Pick Your Poison
by ideal fairytale
Summary: Edited as of July 29, 2013. LawOC. PreCanon. "You have one of two choices. Either come with me or be forcibly thrown into the ocean." He smiled in that patronizing way of his. It made her blood boil. "Pick your poison, Miss."
1. Chapter 1

**Pick Your Poison  
>Chapter One<strong>

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**.**

She was on a mission.

* * *

><p>"Granny, I need a job to stave off this boredom..."<p>

The old bartender 'tutted' as she wiped the last glass dry, weathered hands making quick work of the job.

"S'bout time! How long 'ave ya been lazing around at mah counter like that? A week? Two weeks? A month?" She huffed. "And ya call 'ourself an odd-jobba', Panny!"

"It's only been two days... And it's Pandora, Granny..."

'Panny' cringed. She _really _hated her name. One of the reasons being that one couldn't make a good nickname out of it. While other girls at her village got cute nicknames like Milly or Gabby, she got stuck with names like Panny, Pancake Chest, Dora Dorkus- She paused in that train of thought. The last two were from the village boys when she was a little kid. Now that she thought of it, those weren't _really _nicknames. They were more just juvenile taunts and names they had made up _because of her _**funny **_name._ Dammit. Being named something normal like Michelle or Annie would have been preferable, but she had lived 19 years with this name and it wouldn't do any good to change it up now. Still...

Stupid dad.

Pandora wondered for the umpteenth time why she was trying to find the old guy. Not only the name situation was her reason for this question. There were just so many personality and behavioural problems with her dad that she wondered if she had inherited his stupidity just for trying to find him like this.

"Oi! Panny! Wha's wif that ugly expression ya makin' on tha' face 'a yours?"

"...Anyway," she ignored how the old woman ignored her request to call her by her proper name. "You know anyone in this town that needs help? Something short would be best since the Log Pose will be setting in a few hours."

"Hmm...lemme think..." The bartender took her time. There was really no rush since it was the day and thus, there weren't any customers besides her and the drunkard snoring in the corner who seemed to live in the slightly grimy bar.

Fingers snapped.

"I gots it!" The old woman who Pandora had grown quite close to in the past few days beamed. "Ya kno' how ya've only been 'ere for an hour? Well, an hour ago, The owner of the costume shop around the corner came in blarin' an' yellin' about how some no-good punk 'ad stolen his money!" She winked at the young woman, who was slowly getting more excited the more the situation was explained. "Ya think ya can handle that?"

Pandora smiled confidently. The type of smile she used to reassure her patron when they thought she couldn't do a job just because of her gender and appearance. She was getting into business mode.

"It would be besmirch my name as a jack of all trades if I couldn't!"

* * *

><p>"You got the goods, toots?"<p>

'Toots', otherwise known as Pandora, stared blankly at the man behind the counter. He was her customer. This was ironic seeing as how he was the proprietor of the costume shop she was in right now. The tall, thin man had a very obvious combover that was hidden by a detective hat plopped on his head and a rubber cigar clenched between his teeth. Granny had told her the guy would be weird, but seriously, this was kind weird _and _creepy. Who the heck called people 'toots'? And what were these goods he was speaking of?

Face still blank, she silently turned to the windows behind her. Snapping up the closed shutters to let the sun into the dark room and ignoring the agonized, _'The light! It burnss!'_, she turned back to him and eloquently said, "Uhh... Rosie sent me here to see if you needed help catching that person who stole money from you."

The man stopped rubbing his eyes. "Old Rosie? You're shitting me! When I said I needed help, I didn't mean little weakling like _you_." He said 'you' as if she wasn't even good enough to be dog crap on the bottom of his shoe. And now he was staring at her with so much scepticism, it was blinding her. With anger.

Deep, deep breaths. Don't punch potential customer in the face.

She had to keep her anger in check.

"Look," Pandora said sharply. "You can either give me the job _with _success guaranteed or your money back _or _you can just sit here twiddling your thumbs and pretending you're someone you will_never _be instead of you, who is leading this sad, sad life."

She had failed to keep her anger in check.

_Well, he deserved it_, she thought defensively.

A simple nod from a now _very _depressed man was all Pandora needed to step out of the store to find the thieves.

* * *

><p>The first place to look would be...<p>

...Pandora had no idea.

Even though she had been in the town for a little more than two days, she had either been in the bar or in her boat. Sure, she knew where the various supplies and clothes stores were since she had made them a priority when she first landed, but besides those places, she didn't really know where to look for a little teenage thief. The town was a decent size too, so it would take her a while to walk around everywhere, let alone search. She sighed and ran a hand down her face as she thought about the task ahead of her. This may take more time than a few hours...

She smiled.

So it was a challenge then.

"You seem to be looking for something, Miss."

Pandora's feet stopped walking as her wandering eyes settled on a man sitting down on a crate. He was leaning back with his hands behind his head and resting against the wooden planks that made up a small building that looked to be another bar. Inside, she could hear the raucous roars of men that were much too drunk for a sunny afternoon like today. She squinted against the bright sunlight. Unlike the man, who was hidden from the sun in the shade and looked to be perfectly content, she was slowly boiling in her casual clothes.

"Yes..." She walked toward the man, but stopped a safe distance away when she noticed a very, very long sword propped up against the wall. It was within arm's reach too.

That was kind of suspicious... Pandora relaxed stance tightened defensively as he smiled up at her. What people would have taken for a polite smile, she immediately took as chilling. It didn't reach his eyes, which were nearly hidden by an admittedly neat-looking hat that didn't quite fit in with the summer island's weather. Maybe he was from somewhere cold, like the North Blue. The rest of his attire certainly wasn't appropriate. Pandora frowned. Why was she the one sweating then?

"Mind telling me who or what it is you're looking for? I may be able to help," he offered affably.

"..." Well, she _did _need help and she had been planning on asking some people if they had seen the boy anyway. More importantly, the man didn't look as if he was about to jump up and use his sword to slash her to bits. He completed every requirement of Pandora's People to Press. Oho, she had just made a wonderful alliteration. Certainly genius amidst trying to find a metaphoric needle in a haystack.

"I was wondering if you seen a boy. He has brown hair, blue eyes, about 12... Kind of looks like a bum..." she said, listing off the traits that Carter had given to her.

"He went in that direction a long while ago," the man said lazily. She looked at him questioningly. She could see a smirk twist his lips. "About two hours ago."

"Shoot!" Pandora's eyes comically widened, not even contemplating how or why the man had been sitting out there for two hours. Who knows where the kid could be by now. She was hoping beyond hoping he was still in that area, at least. Hurriedly, she made her way past the man, but not before hollering a big, "Thanks! I owe you!"

When she was out of sight, Law stood up with an intent to head back into the air-conditioned bar.

"...Maybe if I see you again, Miss."

Neither of them had expected to meet each other again.


	2. Chapter 2

**Pick Your Poison  
>Chapter Two<strong>

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* * *

><p>"Listen, I know times are a little rough..."<p>

The boy squirmed. The ropes were chaffing his skin.

"...and that costume guy seems like a good candidate to steal from..."

He looked up to the young woman who had her hands on her hips. She wasn't looking at him either. He sneered. That would be the lady's undoing. He was going to escape while she was in the middle of her stupid speech and then who would be the one laughing then? He would be the one laughing! He thought back to when she had pounced on him after they stood staring at each other for 10 whole seconds. She had laughed at him after he had demanded to be let go after she was done tying him up. He _really _should have ran, but hadn't thought that the nasty man he had stolen from would send some girl after him. He was notorious in the town for being a bit of a sexist.

(And he had to admit that he was a hormonal boy and thought that the older woman had been wanting to chat him up...)

"...since he seems like kind of a jerk and easy to steal from..."

_Almost... _Just a bit more loosening and his legs would be free. He had already secretly freed his wrists.

"...and if I were a thief, which most of the time I'm not, I would steal from him too..."

_YES!_ The boy slyly slipped the loose ropes away from his limbs. His ears were thrumming from anticipation as adrenaline coursed through his veins and muscles. Sweat trickled down his back uncomfortably, but even that wasn't enough to deter him. Just wait for a chance and then...

"...but that doesn't mean it's righ-HEY!"

He shot off as quick as a torpedo and had about two seconds of sweet, sweet freedom before he felt the collar of his shirt being yanked viciously. He fell gracelessly on his back with a loud _"Oof!"_and was painfully picked up by his ear lobe and hoisted up. He cried out in dismay when she daintily plucked the bag of money from the inside of his vest pocket. That had been his food money for him and his brother for the week!

"H-hey! That's for me and my brother!" he blurted out, before immediately after feeling the urge to facepalm himself. He hadn't meant to say that. He hadn't meant to say _that_. Now he was going to look like a sensitive twit by and be hauled to the Marines Base... She didn't say a word about what he just blurted out and he would have thought she hadn't heard him if not for how her eyes widened at her statement.

"Come on," she said finally, while tugging him along by his ear.

"Ow, ow, ow! Let go of me!"

* * *

><p>"S-surgeon of Death, T-Trafalgar Law," the highest ranking Marine in the group stuttered out. "W-we have the building surrounded! We've also called a Vice Admiral that will be arriving in a short time! Y-you better surrender!" he added.<p>

The overall effect would have been more intimidating if it wasn't so obvious that every single man was shaking in their black boots. The 35 Marines waited with baited breath. Only moments before, loud laughter from the members of the Heart Pirates had filled the air. Now it was completely silent. _Eerily _silent.

"Maaan..." All the Marines jumped at the voice who had broken the silence. "I thought we would get at least a few more hours before having to go work, but I bet the bartender ratted us out!" Said bartender who was hiding behind the Marines group after slipping out of the bar stiffened. "...I'm not as drunk as I want to be... What about you, Shachi?"

A sigh was heard. "Is killing really work for a pirate, Penguin?"

The Marines collectively gulped at the words.

"You think we could go back in after we're done?" a third voice piped in. By that time, all three speakers had stepped out. Two men and one... talking bear...?

"No way, you idiot!" Penguin and Shachi declared.

"...Sorry."

If the circumstances were anything but, the whole display would have been funny, albeit strange. As it was, every man there in a blue and white uniform was ready to piss their pants because of the foreboding feeling that lingered. There was no doubt that there were more crew members inside the bar. As to why they didn't come out, the Marine lieutenant faintly surmised that they thought that this was all that was needed to handle them. The arrogance of rookies... He felt frustration well up inside of him that replaced the fear and almost wished Trafalgar Law would come out.

"Are you lying about the Vice Admiral?" a fourth voice drawled out.

The man of the hour had arrived.

The Hearts Pirate Captain had stepped out and was in the centre. He smirked when he caught sight of the trembling Marines. His eyes landed on the Marine lieutenant and there was a long moment where neither of their gazes wavered, though the lieutenant was close to looking away. The man seemed to figure something out because he looked away from the lieutenant disinterestedly.

"So you aren't lying," he hummed out. He held out a hand casually, while his other hand's thumb lifted up the infamous nodachi from its sheath. The sword came out with a frightening metallic shriek. It was a cue for the fight. The shaking Marines lifted up their respective weapons bravely.

"**Room.**"

* * *

><p>"Thank you very much," Pandora said cordially as the costume shop owner grudgingly handed her the agreed payment as she handed him the money. It was a little less than the bag of money that she was giving back, but she was happy with it anyway.<p>

"Where's the boy?" he muttered out. "Don't tell me you just let him go..."

It was with those words that her polite smile took a turn for the worse. She knew that if the man got his hands on the boy, there would be dire consequences for him. No doubt the cosplayer would try to hand the poor, little guy over to the Marines base just a few blocks away and for her. That wouldn't sit right with her.

"We're going to have to talk about that..." Pandora said as she watched the man take a step back from her glare.

* * *

><p>Maybe, just maybe he could escape if he chewed his arm off. He had heard that some animals did it when they were stuck in dangerous situations. This definitely should be treated as a dangerous situation.<p>

The boy stared forlornly at the rope wrapped all around his right arm. The end of the rope had been secured to the post of the shop. The woman had learned from before and had been meticulous with how she tied it. He imagined after she was done talking with Carter, she was going to take him to the Marine Base.

He was screwed.

"AI-AI-AI!"

His eyes popped out of his sockets as he turned to see a bear wearing a jumpsuit kicking a small group of about three or four Marines out of view. He heard a loud crash followed by a building in the distance falling down. The bear disappeared after its prey right when he heard the cheerful ring of the store's greeting bell. He continued to gape at the place where the bear and the Marines had just been until he felt something tugging on his pseudo-leash.

"What are you looking at?" Pandora asked as she looked at where he was _still _staring at. There was nothing there. Just the the road.

"K-Karate bear...Marines...k-k-kick! BOOM! B-building fall!" he managed out breathlessly to her as he furiously pointed at the spot where the Marines and the bear had just been.

"Is that supposed to be a story? Maybe a joke?" She shook her head at the boy and pulled him along to their next destination. "Nevermind. I was a little kid too, so I know when your imagination gets the best of you." She smiled. "You'll grow out of it, so don't worry about it since you're still pretty young."

"But, but, but...!"

* * *

><p>"Granny, I have a favour to ask about this boy," Pandora said. The youth yelped when she pulled hard on the rope. He tumbled to the ground. He glared. She hadn't believed him. Thought he was a little kid... He <em>had <em>seen a bipedal bear kicking some Marine, he had!

The boy blinked at the sketchy image. Now that he thought of it, it _did _seem a little weird. Maybe he had been imagining it. Or maybe—

"I was wondering if you could give him a job here. Maybe at the back since he's underage..."

That put a halt to his thoughts of what level his mental well-being was at.

The old bartender stared drolly. "I don' think that guy's ta type to let thieves go..."

"I took care of him."

"Well, ain't that suspicious? I won' ask ya about it though." Rosie chuckled. "Seriously though, why woulda do somethin' like tha', Panny?"

"Oh, come on, Granny," Pandora argued. "I think he'll be a hard worker. He had enough guts to steal from that Carter guy for a good reason."

"An' what would 'da reason be?" Rosie directed her stare at the boy who, up until now, had been looking at Pandora with a mixture of shock, awe and gratitude. He looked underfed, but she could see muscles underneath the dirt-covered skin. Her interest peaked when she saw the gumption in the boy's eyes. Maybe taking up Panny's offer wouldn't be that bad...

"He said he was doing it for his brother," Pandora said softly before patting the boy on the head. The youth looked as if he was almost going to cry now and was barely holding the tears back.

"Ya think he ain't lyin'?"

"This may seem arrogant, but I'm a good judge of character."

Rosie turned her full attention to the boy. "Ya gots Panny's word in. Well, boy? Ya think ya can work 'ard? I ain't a money machine eitha' so don' expect a lotta beli for ya work."

"But... what about the child labour laws?" the boy whispered. The reason he had been stealing in the first place was because nobody would hire him because he was too young.

The old bartender waved a hand dismissively. "Whateva'! If ya workin' at the back, nobody'll see!"

"T...thank... you." He was crying now. Full-blown weeping as his response now.

"Heh!" Rosie cackled at his response.

"Do your best," Pandora whispered. She patted the boy's hand before walking up to the bartender to show her the set Log Pose. "I'll be going now, Granny. Do you have my bag?"

"'Course, Panny!" The old woman pulled a rather large book bag from behind the counter. "Seems kinda light though..."

"Only my important stuff is in here. The rest is on my boat... You didn't look inside of it, did you?"

"Who do ya think I am!" Rosie replied, after practically shoving the boy to the back.

"I suppose that means no..." Pandora trailed off. "I guess this will be the last time we'll see each other." It was a statement, not a question.

"I guess so!" Rosie crowed. "Give 'em hell, Pandora! Get laid too!"

The sound of something breaking in the back was heard.

"What the 'ell ya doin', boy!"

"Ack! S-sorry!"

Pandora silently exited the bar, inwardly laughing as the unnamed boy was scolded by Rosie.

* * *

><p>"How long will supplies last?" Law asked after sheathing his nodachi. He walked past the mass of groaning and crying body parts littered on the ground, stepping over the stray pieces of flesh with the air of a person well acquainted with the circumstances.<p>

"About two weeks, give or take, Captain," Shachi answered as he hastened to catch up to Law's quick strides. He hesitated. "Are we really going to leave before the Log Pose has set?" They had only just arrived here and according to the island's inhabitants, it took three days for the special compass to set.

His Captain paused in his steps for a second before continuing forward.

"...We have an Eternal Pose to Sienna de Leone," he finally replied. "If there are no unexpected detours, we should arrive at that island a little after the two weeks are up. It's not the best solution, but it will have to do."

Shachi nodded. He had momentarily forgotten about the Eternal Pose they had stolen from a Marine ship due to the severity of the situation they were in. He grinned under the brim of his hat. Trust his Captain to be cool-headed even in these types of situations.

"I'll be going ahead to inform Gale," Law continued coolly. "Follow with the others after you're done dealing with the stragglers."

"Yes, Captain!"

* * *

><p>"To my boat, I go!" Pandora exclaimed heartily. She was feeling giddy about the completion of her job. It was always pleasant to feel accomplished with a little more money in her pocket.<p>

While she walked, she could feel some sort of bad feeling that grew the more time passed. It was when she was almost at the town's port that she realized that the town was strangely quiet. She looked around and could see no one walking around the streets that had been crowded with people just a while ago.

She made her way to her boat a little faster, ignoring the humidity and heat that would have normally slowed her down. The faster she was out of here, the better. She didn't want to deal with... whatever was going on. The quiet was beginning to, well, disquiet her.

Pandora nervously toyed with the ring on her thumb as she walked. It was tarnishing on the edges. If she rubbed there, the rust would fall off on the ground like dirty yellow-orange snowflakes. Maybe she should think of investing in some polish to rub them off properly. She stopped and held it up above her head. It glistened brightly in the sun and she smiled happily when she saw the words, '_To My Dear Pandora' _on the surface of the inside.

Then the bear hit her out of nowhere.

No, she was being serious. A bear had actually hit her out of nowhere.

One second she had been admiring her ring and the next, a bear in an orange jumpsuit had plowed straight _through_ her.

_Aah... ooww... _She had been knocked down with that crash and now her butt _really _hurt. It felt like she had been hit by one –no, five— elephants. Why ever that bear had been running must have been a pretty damn good reason if he was going that fast. Pandora grunted as she sat herself up and-

...Where was the ring?

Panic, frustration and did she already mention _panic_ came into play as she looked around frantically on the ground for the silver ring. Where was it, where was it, where the _hell _was it?

It was only by chance that she happened to look up and that she happened to see a small glint of silver light on the white fur of the bear. She ignored the weird situation that a bear in a jumpsuit was running on two legs. All she could think of was that the bear had _stolen _her ring.

...Pandora picked herself up, slinging her book bag on her shoulder. She calmly patted the dust off her clothes and exhaled loudly.

A bear had just stolen her ring...

Well.

"GET BACK HERE, YOU DAMN BEAR!"

* * *

><p>"My back is itchy," Bepo complained vocally. Running and trying to scratch one's back was hard. "Could one of you scratch my back?" He looked expectantly at his crew mates.<p>

"NO!" Penguin and Shachi cried out in stereo, answering for the rest of the crew. "Now is **not **the time, Bepo!"

"Oh..." Bepo deflated considerably. "...Sorry."

He really was sorry. Here they all were trying to escape to the ship from a Vice-Admiral and he was asking for unnecessary things like getting his back scratched while they were running to escape from the Vice-Admiral. Goodness, he was so useless and stupid. Besides being good and karate, what else could he do? Maybe he should just go back to the North Blue and become a solitary bear again.

_(But as always, Bepo perked up again.)_

Nonetheless, his itchy back was really starting to distract him.

"But..."

_"-AMN BEAR!"_

"Did you hear that?" Penguin inquired.

"Yeah," Shachi said, pensive. Despite the normalcy(?) of the conversation, they were still running for their lives. "What's a 'phlegm hair'?"

"No, I'm pretty sure that it was 'damn bear'." Said 'damn bear' nodded confidently. "My ears wouldn't deceive me." They were a good pair of ears too. Would serve him well for years to come if they didn't get cut off or shot. Hmm, on the other hand, he was sure the captain would be able to fix them if they were shot. He wasn't so sure about the cutting, but then he would have to make sure they weren't cut-

"ARGGHHHH!"

Oh goodness. First his back was itchy, now there was some kind of weight on it. How strange. He also felt a tugging where he had said his back itched.

"What the _hell?"_ Penguin cried out.

"B-Bepo, t-there's a girl on your back!" Shachi hollered.

Ah, there really was a girl on his back. She was glaring at him too.

"GIVE ME BACK MY RING! GIVE IT BACK NOW OR SO HELP ME, I WILL—"

Bepo effectively blocked her off.

Hmm, There was a girl on his back... Not that it really hindered him because she was too heavy or something, but rather that her screaming into his ear about a mysterious ring that he did _not_ steal was a bit distracting. She reminded him a bit of monkey. Not that he had seen monkeys. The North Blue didn't have any, but he had heard of them. Like the person on him, they clung to trees (him) and screeched almost 90% of the time (which she was doing).

Really now, monkeys were so uncivilized.

"Um..." Bepo asked calmly. "What should I do about-"

The bear blinked. While he had been somewhat distracted by the girl, everyone had gone ahead into the bowels of the submarine.

Oh...

Never one to want to be left behind, he jumped aboard the sub, ignoring the small, _'Eek!'_ from the girl on his back as he entered the submarine. The metal doors slammed shut behind him as the little underlings scrambled to close the door. Actually, his little subordinates were scrambling to do everything and anything. The normal, fluorescent lights inside had been replaced by a red, blinking lights as the alarm sounded. They were submerging fast. _Really_ fast.

"Aha!"

Bepo felt a hard painful yank on his fur. He reacted instinctively, and bucked off the momentarily forgotten girl like a frustrated bull with its rider. He heard a dull thunk against the wall of the hall and a loud groan. The weight on his back was gone now. He pivoted on his paw and saw that the girl was clutching the back of her head, a grimace on her face.

Bepo hmphed. "Well, that's you get for climbing up on me," he said in a matter-a-fact tone.

The female human's lids fluttered open. "Well, _you_-!"

...

He tilted his head. Her mouth had dropped open and now it was opening and closing like a little fish out of water. She looked a bit funny like that, but he merely waited for her to do something. By that time, the alarm had stopped and all was fairly quiet. The rest of the Heart Pirates were in the control room, so he was left alone with the strange person gaping up at him.

He warily took a step back when her cheeks had become flush with red (a fever?)... Was it just him or was she _sparkling?_

There was a long, long silence between them before the girl reacted.

"You. are. so. _cuuuuuuteeee!"_

She bounded into the poor bear, who had no choice but to stand there and take it as she stuffed her face into his fluffy self and squeezed him around his tummy.

"Cute! _Cute! _**Cute!**"

He thoughtfully sifted through his memories, ignoring the squealing girl hugging him. This was his first hug. Ever. Shachi and Penguin had said that being hugged by a woman with big breasts was the same as going to heaven. Well, he was pretty sure she had big breasts. The shirt on her was really loose, but he imagined the soft things pressing against his tummy were just that and they _did_feel quite large.

Bepo sighed. He didn't _feel _like he was in heaven. Maybe it was because she wasn't a bear. What he would do to be hugged by a girl bear... All he felt right now was a bit sore from the fighting.

He blinked again when he saw a familiar fuzzy hat approaching them.

"Hello, Captain."

* * *

><p>She had been right in the middle of cuddling the bear which, now that she had her ring back, looked so freaking adorable that she <em>had <em>to hug it to bits. Then she heard a sharp _shwik _of a weapon being unsheathed. Cold metal pressed against her neck. She froze.

Shit.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** This will be an adventure story with moderately heavy romance. Very One Piece-y, hopefully.

Thank you to the old readers for baring with me reusing old scenes. I really like them, so I couldn't bare to get rid of them. I'm always nervous when I post a new story. With me saying that, I'd like to thank the reviewers. You deserve cookies, really.

Reviews and concrit fuel my muse.

P.S. **This story may be rated M in the future**. I will warn you guys in my author's notes though if it does come to that.


	3. Chapter 3

Thank you to Tykipon, mythologyfreakgirl and Music of Madness for reviewing. (:

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><p><strong>Pick Your Poison<strong>  
><strong>Chapter Three<strong>

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**.**

* * *

><p>Screwed.<p>

She was so screwed.

They were in his office, if one could call it that. It looked more like a pig sty, with piles of papers and folders strewn across his desk and some well-worn books that depicted medical jumble within its pages all over any surface that had been bare. Pandora's hand had twitched at the sight, a strong, strong urge to clean was in her.

She was a bit of a freak when it came to places being nice and **clean**.

"So, I believe it would be in your best interests if you told me why you decided to stow away on my ship," the man the bear had called captain suggested lightly.

His hands were laced together as he rested his chin on them, a congenial smile that looked more like a smirk plastered on his face. The fingers of his hand spelled the word, 'DEATH'. It jumped out at her, mocking her. Pandora could feel sweat forming on her neck. She felt like a bit like a nervous teenager on her first job interview, with her potential employer trying to intimidate her more than she already was.

_I am so screwed..._ Pandora shifted uncomfortably, the rope around her wrists were as uncomfortable as the hard seat she had been forced on by threat of decapitation.

His smirk widened.

Scratch "trying". He was definitely succeeding.

From the amount of staring they were doing to each other, you would think that he had recognized her from her little interrogation back in the town. She had recognized him right away, of course. His strange attire coupled with his perpetual smile was enough for her to identify him as soon as all the hoop-la about her being an "intruder" was gone. She dismissed this. He hadn't said anything yet, so she doubted it. Maybe he was the type to forget a stranger from the streets in a few hours. She had no idea.

"My ring got caught on your bear's fur and so I thought it would be best if I...climbed on him to get it...yeah," she finished lamely, despite the casualness of her tone. Frankly, she was a bit embarrassed by her behaviour barely an hour ago, but the thought of losing her precious ring...

Well, she didn't even want to think of the _possibility _of that.

"I see..." She could tell he was amused from the tone of his voice. Feh. Glad _someone _found this situation funny. He leaned back on his chair.

_Oh, sure. Look like you don't give a crap while you're threatening me..._

"Look," If she had her hands free, she would have held out her palms out. "I got my ring back and the only harm done on your bear is that he'll have to regrow some fur. If you could just let me go at the next island we stop at, I'll be on my way and we can pretend this never happened."

His lashes lowered.

"And how would that arrangement benefit me?" he enquired. "The way I see it, you're in no position to make demands for me, Miss...?"

She ignored his request for her name and forged on.

"I can give you monetary compensation for your services." _Though this whole situation isn't really my fault and I hardly have any money with me... _"All I ask is that I get off on the next island. No muss, no fuss."

"...Maybe."

_What?_ Pandora could feel a collective series of twitches of her left eye threatening to come on, but held them back. No need for him to see that she was a little, tiny, eensy bit worried now. It looked like she wouldn't get off this ship without cracking a few skulls. Or getting her own skull cracked. She had not seen the rest of his crew, but the Captain himself was indeed powerful. That much she could tell.

"Well," He shrugged haphazardly. "It'll depend." He stood up and rounded about the desk, to move to stand close to her. She leaned back slightly against her chair. Just slightly too. Not enough for him to notice anything to hint how she was feeling. At least not until the damn, traitorous chair creaked under the change in weight. He must have noticed this, but didn't comment. That irked her even more. His hand, fingers long and lithe, moved to brush her hair behind her ear. An devilish gleam surfaced through the normal, guarded nonchalance of his grey orbs.

"We'll see what happens..." he murmured quietly. He was so close, but she could barely hear. The pounding of a certain organ against her rib cage was deafening. "And should circumstances arise that I think prove you to be useful, you'll be staying Miss..." Another prodding for her name, and this time she answered.

"...Maxwell Pandora," she said breathlessly.

It was like he was controlling her, like a master puppeteer with his marionettes.

She thought she could see him stiffen and his eyes widen for just a second, but then it was gone. He was back to normal.

There was a tense few moments (it seemed to stretch for eons) before his hand had moved, splaying against the junction between her neck and shoulder. His hand was cold. It was a warning. A show of power. He could snap her neck right now if he wanted to and had put his hand there lightly just to show that he _could_ do it easily. She swallowed as he pulled away, taking away the sudden, choking atmosphere with him. She inhaled through her nose slowly. In and out. In and out.

She hadn't been breathing.

A satisfied smile made its way to Law's lips at her reaction.

"I'm glad we understand each other, Miss Pandora."

* * *

><p>Pandora looked up from her pillow, a frown on her tired face. She had been chanting <em>bastard <em>in her head for a long time but her therapeutic inner-shouting session wasn't all that therapeutic. She didn't feel all too much better. In fact, she felt more exhausted from the curses and expletives hurdled at a certain infuriating man.

Pandora snorted. She was betting that he was another one of those delusional captains that thought they could find One Piece.

She hoped he _failed_.

Pandora hugged her precious bag to her chest as she withdrew herself from her fetal position on the cot. The one other thing that added to her worsening mood was...

"Hellooo, cutie!"

...how he had stuck her in a cot in the barracks with his crew. In other words, testosterone, which was pretty gross considering the testosterone surrounding her smelled like sweat and month old gym socks. The men were slowly filtering into the room after the unplanned escape from the island and were now peering at her like some sort of animal in a zoo.

She was betting that fuzzy-hatted _bastard_ thought it would be funny to stick a single woman in a room with a bunch of men, which is exactly why he did it.

Bastard.

Her reply was silence to the voice from the crowded barracks. She purposely didn't make any eye contact with any of them. Her outer demeanour was cold, but inside, she was anxious. Say if she _did_ manage to fight off all of these perverts that were craving _any _sort of feminine touch, she knew she wouldn't be able to escape. It was pretty much hopeless. They were a few hundred feet under the water. She could swim, but her soft human body wouldn't be able to withstand the kind of pressure that the submarine could.

Most notably, there was also the sword-wielding captain... and she guessed the bear. She had a feeling it wasn't simply part of the crew because the captain had thought a talking bear walking on two legs was amusing to have in his crew.

Pandora remained cautious as three men finally emerged from the crowd. It was two men... and the _bear_? She couldn't hide the disgust on her face. Even the bear was going to—

She stiffened, every muscle in her body taut. She wasn't going down without a fight, damn be the consequences.

The one in the middle stepped forward and said, "Name's Shachi."

"Penguin," chirped the younger man wearing a hat that ironically said 'PENGUIN' on the front.

"Bepo," finished the bear.

"We're here to take ya to your room," Shachi told her. "Well, I am. I don't know why Penguin and Bepo are coming along." He scratched his head contemplatively. "Penguin's a pervert, so that may explain his why. Still not sure about Bepo."

"H-hey, I'm not a pervert," the other man assured a wary Pandora, who was beginning to think that maybe she wasn't in here for the reasons she initially thought. "And even if I am, Shachi's as much as a pervert than I am!" Pause. "N-not that I am a pervert..." The guy was back to where he started and sighed.

Pandora stared. Lovely.

"I'm here because she smells nice," answered Bepo. "Everyone else here smells like sweat. That's why I let her on my cot when the Captain asked. Now my cot's going to smell nice for a while," he added.

"You're the one that smells the most, you sweaty bear!" Shachi and Penguin yelled.

"...Sorry."

It was taking a long time for it to click.

"Wait a minute." At her words, the three had stopped. She pinched the bridge of her nose. The casual atmosphere had rubbed off her that she was now talking to her like she wasn't a prisoner. Everything was going so fast and she wanted to clear something up. "Does that mean I'm not supposed to stay here?"

The three looked at her as if she was an idiot.

"He just intended to keep you in there for a bit. It was the best place to put you in since you wouldn't be able to do anything with everyone there," Bepo said. "You're a slow girl, aren't you, Pandora?"

"Of course you aren't staying there," Shachi added. "You didn't think the Captain would let you stay in here, did you?" He was making an admirable effort of suppressing snorts of laughter.

"It would have been nice though." Penguin was looking a bit dreamy before he snapped out of his stupor. His shoulders drooped. "There's so much yucky testosterone in here that a feminine presence here would have been a nice change." At this point, they had walked out of the barracks, or else there would have been very vocal complaints from the other men about how Penguin added to the 'yucky' testosterone.

* * *

><p>Pandora was staring inside her "room", unimpressed. It was the size of a walk-in closet. A <em>small<em> walk-in closet with a bed, a small set of drawers and a table crammed into it. There was hardly any room to walk without bumping into anything. It hadn't been the best accommodations she had been in, but she could confess it wasn't the worst. fact, it was better than what she had been expecting just a mere minute ago when she had been in the barracks.

The problem was...

"Is that a _cobweb_?"

"Umm..." Shachi and Penguin shifted uncomfortably. "We were only told to empty the supply clo—your room."

"But it's so _dirty_!" Pandora's hands were akimbo. She saw the pile of papers and books off to the side in the hall. "And what's that?"

Penguin shrugged. "Captain's stuff. He used this as storage for all his extra stuff. He said to put it in his office after we were done emptying the room."

"Where do you plan to put it all?" She was thinking of the _mess _of the office that man had and shuddered. Hardly anywhere to put anything, let alone walk.

"...On the floor?"

"...I see." She sighed. Well, it wasn't any of her business whether these men were slobs or not. As long as it didn't affect her, she was good. She turned to Bepo who, up until then, had been looking at her curiously, like she was some kind of foreign animal species he had yet to hear of or encounter.

"Could you go and get me some cleaning products, Bepo?"

"Huh, why?" He peered into the room. "It looks good enough to me."

"...Just go. Please," she said curtly.

Bepo deflated. "Yes, ma'am," and went ambling down the hall to get what she asked.

...

"Hehe, so from the look on your face, I bet you thought the Captain was making you stay in the barracks with us," Shachi said.

"Wasn't meant to be though," Penguin sighed quietly.

Pandora, who had been leaning against the wall, flushing beet red in embarrassment.

"Why wouldn't I? I've no reason to believe he _wouldn't _do something like that, after all." She hardly knew the guy, except that he was a bit frightening. He would have saved her a lot of worrying if he had told her that he was dropping her off there just for a little bit while a few of his crew members cleaned out a supply closet. Instead, he had vaguely said, _"You'll be staying here for a while," _before leaving.

"The Cap'n wouldn't do something like that," Penguin said. "And even if he did, it would be with good reason."

"He would still tell us not to touch you though," remarked Shachi.

"Hmm..." Pandora was obviously sceptical. She knew the way pirates worked. They put their absolute trust in their captain, unless they were the backstabbing types, which these guys didn't seem to be. They were biased, to be specific.

"What's his name anyway? I think I've seen him somewhere..." _besides that encounter in that town. _"Maybe from a bounty poster..."

It was then that both their friendly smiles took a turn for the worse. She swore that the teeth they were showing were razor sharp, like a shark's.

"The Surgeon of Death, Trafalgar Law, with a bounty of 90 million."

Eh?

The bag that she had been carrying on her shoulder slid off with a thump.

Eh?

"I got it, guys!" Bepo came skipping up to them with a mop, bucket, duster and more in his arms. He saw the look of pure, unadulterated shock on the young woman's face. "What's wrong with her?"

Penguin and Shachi grinned.

"No clue," they both said at the same time.

...Eh?

"**HE'S **TRAFALGAR LAW?"

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><p>AN: Thanks for reading and please give feedback by reviewing if you could!


	4. Chapter 4

Thank you to **Mikala94**, **writrgrl** and **HibariTsunayoshi-kun **for the support. (:

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><p><strong>Pick Your Poison<strong>  
><strong>Chapter 4<strong>

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Pandora was sulking and had been for the last few days. She had holed herself up in her (now clean) room and was simply counting the days off until the submarine got to the next island. She hardly left her room, not even for meals. Instead, she had asked the first mate of the ship, Bepo, to bring her food during mealtimes. It took a lot of asking (and a bit of pleading). Bepo was a very proud creature and first mate, after all. He had agreed, but only if he could stay with her while she ate. She didn't mind. Good company was enjoyed by her.

Him being an adorable animal was just the bonus.

They talked about random things, like their favourite food and colour; safe stuff. Once in a while, he would talk about the crew and his captain. Some of the stuff she already knew, having read it from newspapers or hearing about a new rookie that had basically just "splashed onto the scene" with his first bounty being 90 million. Pretty amazing, she had to admit.

Okay. Fucking fantastic.

There. She said it.

Trafalgar Law had enough guts to steal one of the newest inventions from the City of Metal, a city that was known for its speciality in creating and improving Marine ships. It seemed like just the other day when the city had introduced a new type of travelling that would _"help the Marines become more efficient in bringing justice to those dastardly pirates."_

Yeah.

It had been a huge surprise when an unknown crew known as the Heart Pirates had broken into one of the warehouses at the city's port to steal one of these inventions known as "submarines" barely two months after its creation was made public. There were no civilian casualties as it had been in the middle of the night, but she had read that the captain of the fairly small group had rearranged the body parts of nearly all the Marines that had gone after them before disappearing.

Quickly and efficiently.

_90 million. On his first campaign too..._

On top of stealing something that had been backed by the Marines, she suspected the high bounty was also greatly affected by his Devil Fruit abilities. There were plenty of possibilities for a pirate who had the ability to essentially control whatever in an enclosed orb. The Marines would want to stop aforementioned pirate (aka Trafalgar Law) before it got out of hand. Not only that, but just hearing about his abilities would send a shiver down anyone's spine; the ability to detach body parts on a whim and reattach them.

Gruesome stuff.

"What's that?" Bepo pointed to her collar, more specifically, the jewelry that adorned it. It was a steel chain with ornamental blades.

Pandora wrapped her fingers around his interest. "My treasure. My dad gave it to me."

"Oh." He nodded. "I thought treasure was beli, gold and jewels..."

"Treasure can be that too," she agreed. "But there are personal treasures too."

"I see..." Bepo didn't seem interested in the topic at hand, so he asked another question pertaining to what they talked about yesterday.

"You're leaving?"

Pandora nodded, resolute. She wiped her mouth with her napkin. "First island we're going to, I'm getting off this ship."

"But you _can't_ leave. The Captain won't let you." Bepo seemed very anxious about this and was shifting around like a little kid that needed to pee.

"But he said I could..."

"I don't know what the Captain said to you," he told her. "But by the way he told us to empty out this room and put furniture in there, it seems like he plans for you to stay for a while."

...Over the course of a few days, her feelings for Law had changed. He started out as a frightening loon that scared the crap out of her.

Slowly but surely, he became an annoyance the more she thought about her situation and the _ridiculous _circumstances leading up to it. It hadn't been really anyone's fault that her ring had been caught in poor Bepo's fur, but noooo. Stupid Law didn't see it that way because he was the super awesome Surgeon of _Death _and therefore whatever he thought was universally right in his mind and his gospel of a crew.

_Why was he being so adamant? _Pandora's mouth pressed into a tight line. Now that she thought of it, it was... bizarre. He didn't seem like an insensible guy. Sure, he seemed stubborn and arrogant, but not the type to be unreasonable. There was something more to his reasoning, but for the life of her, she couldn't figure it out.

She was confused.

_...Bastard._

She had been calling him that a lot in her mind as of late.

Pandora stood up from her desk. "I'm going to go talk to him." She hadn't seen him since that time in his pig sty. "We made a deal of sorts and I'm not about to let him go back on it."

Bepo's button eyes widened. "You can't do that," he stated as she began shuffling to the door.

"And why not?" She opened the door and looked behind her at the bear sitting on the edge of her tiny bed.

"For starters," He blinked. "The Captain is right in front of you."

She turned back.

"BLOODY ROGER!" Pandora screeched in surprise as she stepped back from Law, her hand clutching her chest.

"You wanted to speak with me?" Law said, not even bothering to hide his amusement.

She straightened after about ten seconds of staring and coughed into her hand. "That's what I was planning on doing..."

"I wanted to speak with you too." Law looked up from her to address Bepo. "Go and take Miss Pandora's tray back to the kitchen, Bepo."

"Yes, Captain."

And then there were two.

He sat down on her bed where Bepo had been sitting, rested his chin on his hand. He looked to her. "When I heard you were taking your meals in your room, I can't say I was too surprised."

She glared at him defensively, her back against the closed door.

"You planned to seclude yourself to show me that you wouldn't be any use to my crew, yes?"

...Oh, hell. He had figured it out.

"No," she lied, her tone as sharp as the edge of a knife. "I'm more of a prisoner than a member of your crew. I didn't want to be socializing with them _before I_ **left**."

He either didn't catch her emphasis on the last few words or chose to ignore it. Her gut told her it was the latter.

"What do you do for a living?" he questioned suddenly. "It must be dangerous for a young woman such as yourself to be travelling around in the Grand Line alone."

Before she could answer, he added, "And I _don't _like liars, Miss Pandora."

She made a disgruntled noise.

"As long as you aren't a complete idiot, you can travel through the Grand Line just fine," she muttered. "I go around doing odd jobs for people. Nothing big, but nothing too small either."

Law stood up and she stepped away from the door to let him go. "Thanks to the Log Pose you so happily gave us, we'll be able to restock at the next island before we go to Sienna de Leone."

Pandora resisted rolling her eyes at the sarcasm. While she had given her Log Pose willingly, she hadn't given it happily. He had just played on her guilt by reminding her that he had helped her back in that town. He had his hand on the knob when she spoke up again.

"Good luck with that..." she grumbled. "You'll be lucky if you can get one foot into that town without looking like Swiss cheese."

_Oh damn_, she thought at the same time her hands flew up to cover her mouth.

He stopped and regarded her seriously. The everlasting smile was completely wiped off and was replaced with a wary expression tinged with curiosity.

"...What do you know, Miss Pandora?"

She panicked when he cornered to the wall and placed his hands on either side of her head, boxing her in like a flustered bird in a cage.

"...How would someone like _you_ know something like that?"

"I went there before... a few years ago."

Law's mouth twitched, as if he was caught between a smile of amusement and a frown of exasperation.

Pandora wasn't used to having her personal bubble being invaded like this and shrank in on herself a little more. He seemed to realize this and took advantage of his new found knowledge.

"That wouldn't explain how you know which island we're going to," he said, leaning in closer to her.

Well, his plan wasn't going to work.

"Y-you see... I-I think that i-it would be in your and my best interests not to know why," Pandora stammered.

Okay, maybe it was working a little.

She couldn't think of a lie with him standing so close. You would think that a doctor would know something about stranger etiquette seeing as how he had patients, albeit his own crew, see him every day. But frankly, he wasn't showing it from the way he was leaning in until their noses were practically touching.

Law murmured, "I think it would be in _my_ best interests if you told me."

He was way. too. **close**.

A knock.

"Captain! We've arrived to the next island!"

There was hesitation before he pulled away. Pandora sighed in relief as he walked to the door.

Of course, the bubble burst when he opened his yapping trap.

"We'll be continuing this conversation later, Miss Pandora," he said before the door shut with a click.

Fantastic.

She couldn't wait.

* * *

><p>"C-Captain! Paul's been shot!" A crew member from the small group he sent out came running back. Said captain raised an eyebrow. Not far behind were the other three that he had also sent, with two holding Paul by his arms and legs. He saw red on the white jumpsuit. His usual nonchalant posture stiffened. Law fluidly jumped over the edge of the ship's rail. His boots pushing up dust as he settled into his usual stance.<p>

"What happened?" Law asked as he bent down to examine Paul, who had been placed on the ground before him.

"Sorry, Captain. We know you told us not to move an injured guy, but those villagers were about 'ta fire more shots."

"It's fine," he asked tersely as he examined the leg wound. It was non-fatal, but he would be walking with a limp once he recovered.

"What happened?"

"We...we don't know! One second we're enterin' town barely past the first house and the next, someone shoots Paul in the leg!"

The Heart Pirates Captain's brow furrowed as he watched his injured subordinate being taken to the medical bay.

_"You'll be lucky if you can get one foot into that town without looking like Swiss cheese._"

Law smiled grimly.

"Someone go get Miss Pandora."

* * *

><p>"Hey, quit pushing!"<p>

Pandora squeaked when she felt her slimy escort's hand touch her waist. She jumped forward through the door, but not before stepping vengefully on the unnamed pirate's foot. He squeaked suspiciously girly.

"What were you doing with my crew?" Law asked once she stomped outside. He had an almost placid expression that was neither angry nor particularly amused. It would have fooled anyone if not for how there was a certain edge to his movements when he turned to her. They were too stiff, hardly alike to how he had cornered her in her room with languid —almost lazy— movements.

"Making sure they didn't touch me," Pandora said blandly. She knew it was a question out of courtesy and not out of concern. While what Shachi and Penguin had said about their Captain having manners was true, she doubted he would punish one of his crew members just because they were grabby.

Pandora looked over his shoulder. "So we're at the port..." Well, what was left of the port. The deck of the small town's docking area was destroyed, like always.

It was like this to deter visitors.

"What did you want?"

He hadn't said anything else to her even though he seemed to want to tell her something.

Law turned his attention back to her. "You wouldn't happen to know how to get into the town, would you, Miss Pandora?"

Pandora crossed her arms over her chest while emerald green eyes peered into his stormy grey. "What _ever_ makes you think I would tell you that, Mister Trafalgar?"

A flicker of annoyance through the mask of indifference.

"It would benefit your immediate well-being if you did."

"I could just escape right now," she shot back. It wasn't like there were ropes restraining her anymore. She hefted the bag on her shoulder a little closer.

"Try it."

The sound of knuckles cracking from his crew that were also on deck.

Pandora's shoulders drooped.

"How crude," she muttered lowly.

"Crude but efficient, Miss Pandora."

"Right..." Pandora glared at him once more before roughly pushing her way past him. Law silently held a hand in front of his crew, who were panicking about her escaping. She jumped over the railing, her skirt whirling about her before she landed, crouching cat style, on the island's dirt floor with a thump.

"Do you..." Pandora peered up at the captain through her lashes.

"...happen to have any bananas on board?"

There was a collective silence.

"...Whaa?" a random crew member said, voicing out everyone's thoughts.

* * *

><p>Simiania.<p>

It was an island that was xenophobic to extreme proportions due to wars and plagues and etcetera etcetera in its past. It had been a secluded island up until about 20 years ago when the Age of Pirates began after Gol D. Roger's death. Around that time was when people, pirate, Marine or normal civilian, began drifting onto the island, despite its residents' displeasure. Well, being the xenophobic people they were, there was a lot of blood and fights that ensued until some slow asses finally decided to step in.

By order of the Marines and the World Government, it had been forced to open its doors to travellers.

Let's just say the Simis weren't too happy about this deal, but grudgingly accepted for fear of physical retaliation from the Marines.

But then they quickly found out that pirates weren't exactly legal travellers to the authorities of the world and began to get arguably a little too trigger-happy when they saw Jolly Rogers or even piratey-looking people coming into the town. The mayor had even made it legal for any pirates or "suspicious" people that looked like pirates to be shot on sight and being the vindictive jerks they were, the townspeople readily agreed.

Still, there was a weakness of the Simis that could be used by pirates to bypass that little rule. But most didn't know it.

The Simis had a monkey god that they worshipped whose favourite food was supposedly bananas.

Pandora finished her story with a sip from the water in front of her.

"...Bananas?" Shachi said blankly. "...Are you serious?"

She put down the empty glass. Boy, that felt nice. Her throat had been so dry.

"...My...bananas...Dammit it all..." Penguin choked out. He had stocked up on two boxes of bananas from that summer island's town, only for it to be snatched away by weird, greedy villagers who were reluctantly accepting outsiders frolicking in their town.

He _swore _the waitress had poured water on his head on purpose.

"That's exactly it," she concluded happily.

Penguin and Shachi looked to each other, then her, then to each other again and left the bar, floating. Kind of like plastic bags in the wind. They hadn't drunk a thing. Huh.

"These people are weird," Bepo stated after they left. "Don't you think so, Captain?"

Law, who was at the same table chuckled. "It's... interesting..."

Pandora waggled a finger at the bear (while purposely ignoring Law. He _wasn't _there if she denied his existence).

"Now, now, Bepo. Who are we to judge people for what they do? This place has taken hit after hit _because _of outsiders. I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't let us in."

"But they did let us in." His black button nose wrinkled. "Because of _bananas_."

"Oh, well." She threaded her fingers through her straight, red locks as her arm rested on the table. "Just goes to show you how much they love their god."

She smiled almost wistfully as she looked out the window.

"Everyone needs something to believe in, after all."

* * *

><p>"I said I didn't like liars..." Law trailed off purposefully. "You said you had been here before."<p>

Upon Pandora's recommendation, they were getting off the island as soon as they came. Restocking was done and they had an Eternal Pose to the famous tourist spot, Sienna de Leone. There were no particular worries that they would run out of supplies again since, if you had a Log Pose or Eternal Pose, trips from island-to-island usually only took a week. And if they were longer (which they rarely were), the trip would take about a month, max.

"Whatever do you mean?" she replied cordially.

"You have certain... quirks when you're lying." He paused when she stiffened. "Most people wouldn't notice," he assured her.

"Eh..." She tried to sound noncommittal though she was panicking inside. She had quirks that told other people she was lying? Why did she not know of these quirks of hers?

"What kind of quirks told you I was lying?"

...

"_I_ was lying." One side of his mouth curved up to make a smirk at her flabbergasted expression. "Though now that I know you weren't being entirely honest with me, I'd like to know how you knew of this island's customs and history."

...

"We all want to know things we can't ever hope to find out," she retorted calmly. She walked faster to the ship, intent on getting away from his questioning. She didn't expect him to grab her wrist and halt her motions. They were far behind the rest of the crew, having brought up the rear. Law had offered to do it when he saw that she was lagging behind.

He gazed at her expectantly.

Pandora tugged at her wrist, but the firm grip of his long fingers did not relent.

...

If she told him, he definitely wouldn't let her go, would he? He would force her to join his crew and then what? His crew and her were headed to the same place more or less. That would be the benefit of joining his crew. And only if he offered... but joining a crew and becoming a pirate was not to be taken lightly. She screwed her eyes shut.

The weight of her bag, her voluntary burden in it, grew heavier the more she thought about it.

She opened her eyes.

"...Will you make it?" Pandora demanded earnestly. "To the Red Line. To the New World."

If he was surprised by her sudden question, he did not show it.

Instead, he pulled at her wrist upwards and like in a tango, she followed his lead until she was on her tippy-toes. He met her halfway and leaned down so that they were eye to eye.

"I intend to find One Piece," he amended, countenance sombre.

His words were the answer to her question and more.

A breath in.

"My grandfather..." Pandora began slowly. "He was a scholar that travelled around the Grand Line for most of his life until he died. He kept a detailed journal and maps of the places he visited during his travels."

"Maps..."

The unasked question hung between them: Were maps of the Grand Line even possible?

"Maps of the Grand Line _are _possible," Pandora continued. "If you go about calculating your speed with how long it took you to get to an island, you could come up with a distance. If you paid attention to the directions on the Log Pose while you were travelling from island to island, you could find the location of an island relative to another island..." She tried to lower herself so that she wasn't on her toes, but gave up when it became apparent he wasn't going to release her from her awkward position.

"I thought it was really stupid since people wouldn't be able to follow the map anyway because of the Log Pose, though... it made things much easier since I'm someone that learns more from visual depictions..." It had been easier for her to memorize where the islands were because of the map.

She could feel herself tying the noose around her neck the more she spoke. She already knew what he was going to ask and she already knew how she was going to answer.

"...Where is that journal now?" Law didn't ask about the maps since, really, they were kind of (completely) useless as long as you had a journal that said, _"Today I went _**here**_ after coming from _**here**_."_

"I don't have them," she said in a very, very quiet voice. "I left them at home."

The noose was secured.

"...Then you must know what I'm about to ask you," Law drawled, his normally unreadable eyes gleaming. He let go of her wrist. Her toes ached from all the tippytoe-ing she had been doing and she landed on the merciless dirt ground with a harsh thump. Hardly unlike when she jumped off the ship earlier.

"...Yeeess..." Pandora grumbled, not even bothering to hide her distaste of the whole situation.

Law humourlessly smiled. His next words were drunk on Serious and slightly laced with Sarcasm.

"Would you give me the great pleasure of joining my crew then?" He saw hesitation. "Or we could go back to my ship, go out to sea, where you'll again be given one of two choices: Join my crew or be forcibly thrown into the waters."

He smiled in that patronizing way of his. It made her blood boil. "So, pick your poison."

"...If those are my two options, then I guess I don't have a choice, do I?" was her bitter answer.

"None," he said amicably. He held out a hand for her to take.

Pandora stared at his outstretched hand for a long time. She hesitantly reached out just a bit, but then pulled away with a frown. Her pride wouldn't let her take it. She stood up and swiftly made her way back. She needed a break from him. Now. He made no move to stop her and followed after her at his own pace, chuckling.

"Welcome to the Heart Pirates, Miss Pandora."

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><p><strong>AN:** Thank you for reading. Please review to tell me what you thought.


	5. Chapter 5

**Pick Your Poison  
>Chapter Five<strong>

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**.**

* * *

><p>"Men, this is Miss Pandora, who will be joining us on our journey."<p>

All the members of the crew had an absolutely gobsmacked expression on their mugs because of something that Pandora was guessing was on all of their minds. She blushed crimson and stepped forward.

"Uhh..." she began, the very picture of supreme _elegance_. Not. "I ain't your captain's whore."

There were some mixed reactions: shock, horror... glee...? She didn't understand the last one.

Law cleared his throat.

"I mean _the _Captain's whore..." she said after much reluctance. She forgot she was part of the crew now. Maybe her subconscious was doing it on purpose...

"Better," he admitted. The man pushed her lightly, one hand on her shoulder and the other on her back. His small smirk told her he was aware of how nervous she was, despite her casual facade.

"Go on and mingle," he suggested with a mere shrug.

Then he left.

...

"...Uh... so what can you do?" a crew member named Liam questioned. Everything had now settled down. There were a few crew members that introduced themselves to Pandora, but for the most part, she was ignored. So she had drifted off to a table in the corner and just stayed there while the rest of the men conversed with one another in the loud galley. The man questioning her was really more of a boy. He told her he was one of the lower-ranked members of the crew, a cabin boy basically. He was 17, but he really looked more like 15. Granted, he was pretty friendly to her and had sidled up to her table with a cocky gait when all the introductions had finished.

It was kind of... cute in the way that old ladies thought a little kid was cute.

"...I can cook, navigate and..." Pandora kind of trailed off there. She didn't really know what she could do that was beneficial to the crew that they didn't already have. Certainly, the cook and the navigator of the crew were better than her... Was she an informant then? It seemed sort of like an idle job...

She felt pretty useless.

"...you're kind of useless," Liam said with gently, as if trying to lighten the blow to her self-esteem. He had taken off his hat off messy hair so that she could see earnest matching mud brown eyes.

"Mhm, mhm!" Pandora started when a man in a chef's hat plopped down in the seat beside her. "Zat I would agree with." He was greeted with a blank stare. "Oh! Excusez-moi! I completely forgot to introduce myself!" He took off his hat, revealing a shiny dome. It was clear that he had begun to bald and had simply shaved the rest of his hair off after finding out. "My name iz Rene, the cook of the Heart Pirates." He kissed his hand, the very epitome of a gentleman.

"Ah, nice to meet—"

...Then he smacked Liam on the back of the head with a meaty hand and the image shattered.

"OW! What the hell, Rene!"

"You vere zuppozed to chop ze carrots!" his roared, his accent becoming more apparent the angrier he got. Luckily, it wasn't loud enough for anything except for a few curious glances in their direction. Pandora was the only one with enough decency to look embarrassed.

"Time iz ticking as dinner comes!"

Liam grouched, "Yeah, yeah..." He gave a small wave to Pandora before stomping off to the kitchen, almost tearing the swinging doors off their hinges.

Pandora watched the whole exchange with a slack jaw. Rene saw her expression and affectionately patted her cheek after closing her mouth with a kind of gentleness he _definitely _didn't show to Liam.

"Ze kids these days can be so disobedient, non?"

"...Soo..." Pandora didn't know how to really answer that, so she answered his question with another. "What did you want to see me for? That's why you're here, right?"

Rene pinched her cheek, much to her chagrin. His fingers had the same strength as a crab's claw.

"Ma Cherie, you are so cute! Mais oui! I came out to zee you!"

"...Why?"

"Well, I wanted to see what kind of woman ze Captain recruited! It's a first here!" He beamed. "You must have, how do you say, excellent capabilities?"

_Nothing special... _Pandora blinked, her hand rubbing her reddened cheek.

"Can you fight?"

"Sort of...?"

Rene tsked. "Ma Cherie, it is either a 'yes' or 'no' question."

"Yes," she said uneasily. Why was he being so adamant about getting an answer? Something was Not Right.

His demeanour brightened. "I see, I see! Well, zis small break of mine has ended! Dinner shall be coming in an hour."

With that, he left. Suddenly too.

Something was definitely not right.

* * *

><p>It was within a few days that Pandora went to work. Law was taking full advantage of her knowledge of the islands and had ordered her to write out a detailed description of every island they were likely to encounter. Hmm, that was kind of a lie. Technically, he had had ordered Bepo to order her to do so. She had not seen him since he had asked her to join his crew.<p>

"I'm not going to do it," Pandora flatly said.

"I see..." was Bepo's calm reply, though admittedly, he was looking at her as if she had some suicidal tendencies that had not been brought into light until now. In other words, he was looking at her with a '_Are you crazy' _face that kind of irked Pandora since she knew she wasn't crazy. On the other hand, crazy people tended to not think they were crazy, so maybe her level of (in)sanity should be judged by her next words rather than her opinion of herself.

"Well, what use would I be if I gave him all the stuff in written form? I would get thrown off the ship after that," she stressed. Though Pandora could swim, it was quite obvious to anyone that it was impossible to swim long enough to get to an island. People would have to really be insane to be able to do that.

(Needless to say, she didn't know of the Straw Hats yet.)

Bepo was very thoughtful about this because it wouldn't be surprising if Law did throw her overboard. That did seem like what the Captain would do. The man didn't like excess baggage.

"...Anywaay," he went on. "Captain told you to go find him once you were done. I think you'll still have to go even if you said no..." he trailed off. "He'll likely be awake and in the medical bay."

He looked at her with his dark, beady eyes.

"You should go to him now."

* * *

><p>Pandora padded into the room hesitantly. Unlike his office, the large medical bay was immaculate. Not a single piece of stray equipment or a speck of dust from what she could garner. But it also had an odour of bleach, of unidentified chemicals. It wasn't like it smelled <em>bad <em>but what she could smell wasn't only standard hospital sterilization but something more. There was also a very faint whiff of iron.

Blood.

Pandora shivered. Though she had outgrown that childhood phase of Being Afraid of The Doctor's, she still couldn't help but be unnerved. The poor lighting wasn't helping alleviate the feeling. It seemed colder in the medical bay too. The thin tank top and shorts she was wearing weren't practical for the temperature, but they were the only other set of clothes she had besides her other tank top, half-jacket and skirt.

Pandora tugged on her top. She wished she didn't have to appear in front of him like this, but her other clothes were still drying. She hadn't thought that she would be walking around the ship at this hour. Well, that was before Bepo informed her of the task Law wanted done.

She resolved she was going to buy clothes the very instant they landed.

"What brings you here, Miss Pandora?"

She started before spinning around just in time to see Law standing there. Where had he come from?

"I...have some qualms about your order that I thought needed addressing."

Up until then, Law had been dexterously twirling a pen in his hand. When he stopped, she realized that she had been staring at it way too hard to be considered normal. She snapped out of it and blinked up at him.

She eyed his appearance, but nothing seemed to be out of place. Her pride overrode her curiosity, so she didn't ask what he had been doing.

"So—"

"Come," he interrupted as he walked past her.

_Oi..._ She felt a small prickle of annoyance, but pushed it down. There were two doors on the far side of the expansive room. As she got closer, the overpowering smell of what she knew were chemicals came from the door on the right. They entered the door on the left.

"I wanted to take a little break from standing," he explained rather vaguely as he sat down on a chair. They were in a room that looked like the family doctor's back home. He gestured to the examination bed. "Take a seat.

Pandora shook her head. "This won't take long."

"Miss Pandora, with you, I believe these kinds of conversations would take long," he said. "It's exactly why I decided to sit down."

It took a moment for it to click that he was insulting her. "HEY! W-well, just to prove you wrong, it isn't going to take a long time! It'll only take five minutes at most!"

Law made a small '_hmm_' sound. "Whatever you say."

Pandora frowned at him. Up until now, he had seemed distracted. Now he was writing something in a small and leather journal-like book. Curious, she leaned over a bit in a sort of unobtrusive way trying to see what he was writing without looking as if she was interested. She caught a glimpse of illegible chicken scratch (_Doctor's writing, _she corrected) but that was it. Her plan didn't work out. He paused and then she realized he had completely stopped.

"What did you want to speak to me about?" he asked with little emotion as he closed the... the log? Was it a log?

Well, at least he was paying attention to her, though now she was even more curious about what he had been doing.

_Focus, Pandora_, she thought.

"I'm not going to write everything down," Pandora said.

He tilted his head. "And why ever not?" His perfectly innocent question didn't come off as exactly innocent to her since she _did _keep up with the news and had been subscribed to the News Coo until recently. Whatever material she read about him in the papers portrayed the exact opposite of innocent.

"Because then you would definitely throw me overboard and I _definitely_ don't need that happening to me. All the positions on the ship seem to be filled. I see no use for me if I just hand the information over to you on paper."

"All right," he humoured her. "I understand your concerns. Then you'll do well to give us any information you have on an island when I ask for it?"

"...Okay," she relented. That had been remarkably easy. She was expecting threats, but he had agreed so willingly.

Pandora's suspicion levels went up a notch.

"For the record though, I wouldn't have thrown you overboard. Your level of threat is of no great importance on my ship." He stood up. "I could easily subdue you if you tried to rebel and _then_ throw you overboard if I honestly felt like it."

_Nevermind... _She wasn't suspicious anymore. She also couldn't bring herself to really be mad, just annoyed because he hadn't said it in an arrogant and obnoxious way. It was a matter-of-fact way, like he was stating to her that the sky was blue.

Ah, that kind of stung a bit.

She usually didn't care much about other people's opinions, but it still stung.

"You're right, it _did _take less than five minutes," he continued.

_He's being sarcastic... _she thought mildly. She was going to be the bigger man... uh, woman... and ignore it. Yep.

Pandora saluted the Captain and beamed up at him. "Yes, I do, Captain! Thank you so much for asking!" she exclaimed, the gushing in her voice thinly veiling her own sarcasm. He didn't say anything. "I'll be going now..." she muttered. She was about to turn on her heel and escape until he spoke up.

"By the way... how are things with the crew?" She could hear the taunting. She swore she wasn't being paranoid.

...

Her eyes narrowed. "That fake politeness of yours pisses me off. Even before I knew you were Trafalgar Law, I didn't like it. If you're going to talk to me, then don't do it like that, Captain."

There was a deafening silence, as silly as that sounded.

He approached her slowly, with the steps of someone who knew exactly what they were doing and were going to do. She met each of his steps with one of her own backwards, until her back met the wall. He reached out and she flinched away. While pain was not something exactly foreign to her, it was different with him.

Goes to show how truly scared of him she really was.

She opened one eye when she didn't feel the sting of a slap or the ache of a punch. Instead he had twirled a lock of scarlet-coloured hair in his fingers. He used that to pull her closer to him. Their foreheads touched.

"I would like to remind you that as the Captain, I don't appreciate it when my subordinates order me around like that." He was frowning, displeased by what she had said though she had a feeling that it wasn't because she had unmasked him. There was a different reason that she couldn't quite put her finger on.

"Do you understand, Miss Pandora?"

Pandora saw nothing in those eyes of his. Absolutely nothing. She knew he was angry from his words, but the great nothingness in his grey eyes would have made her doubt it if she didn't hear him. It was... a little intimidating.

"_..._Got it."

And then he was back to his normal self, a pleasant smile on his face as he pulled away from her. But the rough pads of his fingers trailed down the bare skin of her arm. It was a gesture to agitate, not seduction. The goose bumps on her skin, a reaction of her body, seemed to oppose her thoughts. She pushed it down defiantly.

"It's in my nature to use...'fake politeness' with people I'm not very acquainted with," he said so pointedly that it felt he was poking her with a knife. The logical explanation was making her feel... guilty, damn him. "But if it does bother you, I'll make an effort to be more genuine in your presence." He was ushering her out now. His time with her was done.

"...Thank you?" Her mind was in a whirl, debating between whether she had opened a can of worms she hadn't wanted to open or if this was a good thing.

"Good night, Miss Pandora," he said quietly before shutting the door.

"Night—" she trailed off before walking away from the already closed door. She was still arguing with whether or not that had been a good idea. She lightly put a fist to her forehead.

_Probably not._

She had just practically asked him not to be nice to her anymore. She felt a touch of exasperation. And he must have been bouncing off the walls at her request. She shook that thought away. A picture of Trafalgar Law literally bouncing off walls was not a good thing to have in her head.

Pandora rifled through today's events. She had been on Simiania and hadn't been killed, joined a pirate crew against her will, spoke with some of the crew and had gotten Trafalgar Law to treat her like one of his crew. Being forced hadn't been that great, but on the other hand she had a way to get to Sabaody. Maybe there would be more information about her dad there.

Without her knowing, there was a small skip in her step.

* * *

><p>A figure waited on the ports of a certain town of entertainment and leisure.<p>

The town known for its ridiculous love for their monkey god had contacted the Marines, saying that they had had pirates visit them followed by a grainy picture of some of the pirates. Now, having pirates visiting the island where the town was wasn't abnormal.

It was Simiania _reporting_ it that was abnormal.

They normally killed any people they could identify as a pirate right away. The Marines knew of this, but didn't do anything to stop it. After all, pirates didn't count as citizens of the World Government; more like scum on the bottom of one's foot if they were to be described by the man shadowed by the night.

There were another two abnormal things that made him come here. One was the fact that the pirates seen in the photo sent were from the notorious Heart Pirates. The figure pulled from his pocket a picture of a young woman and grinning child beaming up at him.

The second was of the newest addition to the pirate crew.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Seven? Thank you to **PhoenixRage92**, **HibariTsunayoshi-Kun**, **writrgrl**, **YukinaCross**, **Decadent Decay**, **Shadow-Shikyo** and **Girlkitsune** for the lovely reviews. An extra long chapter is in order for your awesomeness!

* * *

><p><strong>Pick Your Poison<strong>  
><strong>Chapter 6<strong>

**.**

**.**

**.**

Pandora missed her boat.

It had been a good boat. She had bought the used fisherman's boat a mere two years ago when she was 17. It would have lasted her a few more years if not her inopportune trip into the Heart Pirates' submarine.

She missed a lot of things now that she thought of it.

She missed her clothes (she only had one light set for emergencies in her bag). She missed being above the sea with the occasional spray of water on her bare skin. She missed having a private space for herself that was bigger than a closet that a certain someone had used to store his crap in.

Most of all, she missed the tranquillity and quiet with only the occasional News Coo coming to visit her...

"Men," Pandora spat out venomously. "Can't live with them, can't live without them..."

She had directed this to a certain polar bear, talking to him as if he wasn't a male too.

Bepo's "Uhh..." would have been heard if not for the loud din of their surroundings. They were in the galley's for after-dinner time, which was really more like the Party Real Hardy time from how much laughing and guffawing was going on. Oh, and the alcohol. Did she forget to mention the alcohol?

"Ehehe, can't reaally 'elp it!" Penguin giggle-snorted. He had just polished off another mug of beer. "Ya know we're almost 'ta Sienna de Leone! Sooo excited!" He ran off to a conga line before she could reply. Shachi as well as a bunch of crew members she vaguely knew the names of were already dancing.

Pandora had a mug of beer herself. More out of etiquette than a taste for the stuff. She hadn't drunk a _sip_. Her alcohol tolerance was, suffice it to say, bad. Bepo, who was sitting at the off-to-the-side table with her, had only his empty dinner tray in front of him. Why he had not gone off to join his crew mates was anyone's guess, but she didn't mind so much. As long as he stayed quiet. She didn't want to deal with any babbling today if she could help it.

She was never one much for parties and boisterous drinking, but had firmly resolved to bond with the crew since she knew she would be staying with them for a while. It was going... moderately well. Most were amicable if not friendly to her after her help back at Simiania, but there were a few that didn't look at her in such high regard. She knew this was because she was a girl. They didn't expect much from her.

Well... she didn't care much for them either. So there.

"Stupid Sienna de Leone..." There was one thing there that she remotely liked though, but she couldn't bring enough energy to be excited about it.

"You don't like Sienna de Leone, Pandora?" he questioned innocently.

She cocked an eyebrow. "You don't know what's it about?"

He shook his head.

"Women, casinos and bars."

"Girl bears?"

"...No."

He looked disheartened. "Oh.

* * *

><p>Bepo had firmly concluded that the woman the Captain recruited to the crew was strange. He noticed she preferred being alone and that he was the exception (which made a decidedly pleasant feeling in his chest appear when he thought of it). She was mature in the way that she ignored the comments from the crew about her strength, or lack of thereof. Bepo found this pretty funny since they hadn't seen her fight <em>anyone <em>yet.

Well, she was fairly mature until she talked to the Captain. Then she, in his mind, was downgraded to one of those yapping five year olds that he saw on the streets with their tired looking human moms. Cubs didn't do that. Well, they kind of did, but their needs were very easy to fulfil, while human children... Don't even get him started on it. They wanted _everything_, like the latest toys or a certain type of food and if they didn't get it, they started screaming. _Loudly_. All he remembered wanting when he was a cub was to poop, eat, play, sleep. Honestly. That's all he remembered doing when he was a cub-

Oh. Bepo shook his head. He was getting side-tracked again.

Pandora's green eyes were flitting around the racks. She was going so fast that her hair was leaving a scarlet trail behind her.

"How about this?" She held up a vest.

"I guess it's okay."

She held up a shirt.

"It looks the same as the other one you got at the last store."

"And this?"

He was displeased. "It's fine, Pandora."

"You don't care, do you?"

Bepo contemplated this. "Not really." He saw the glare being directed at him. "What's the matter?"

"Clothes _matter_," she insisted, and so much so that he felt inclined to agree with her since she may get upset with him. He didn't like people being upset with him.

He blinked. "Well, I suppose they do since humans like yourself don't really like showing themselves without clothes. Except when you're bathing because it would be fairly impractical to wash yourself with your clothes. On the flip side though, some could think of that as less work. They wouldn't have to do the laundry then. _I _think it would be uncomfortable to wash yourself with your clothes on. Even when I'm not cleaning myself, I still don't like wearing clothes, but it is needed since the Captain said so—"

"Bepo." Pandora was examining which colour shirt she should get.

"Yes?"

"Please be quiet."

His ears flattened forlornly.

"Sorry."

* * *

><p>Pandora had sent a rather huffy Bepo to the ship to drop off her stuff. Though he seemed to enjoy complaining quite vocally about how she was below him, she noted he almost always completed orders, even if they weren't from Law. She had had to say please a lots of times though but that was a small price to pay to be alone.<p>

The reason she had sent him away was because he would totally cramp her style and that would just not do. She was more of a lone wolf when it came to stuff like this. Uhh... most stuff actually, but _especially _stuff like this.

She strode through the doors of Sienna de Leone's hugest and most famous casino confidently. Her bag was feeling awfully light all of a sudden.

She grinned a little evilly. All that was needed to complete the look was her laughing maniacally and rubbing her hands together.

_Heh..._ With any luck, she would be able to walk away with plenty of shopping money until they reached Sabaody.

* * *

><p>"Whoa, how's that girl—"<p>

"Amazing, she's been pulling straight wins for—"

Pandora smirked. She could feel it: the nervousness, anger, confusion. It was palpable among the air of sweat, heavy perfume and loud blaring sounds of slot machines. She eyed the other players at her table, holding her cards protectively to her face like a noble with her fan. They were all new again. The opponents she had been playing against for the last few rounds had disappeared, likely to be lamenting about the loss of money and grumbling about how they had lost.

Her mother had taught her how to read people and how to manipulate her expressions so that people got the wrong idea of how she was feeling. A frown here, a smile there. It wasn't that hard against every day people. She tried not to use the second... skill of hers often. Unlike her mom, Pandora felt a mite uncomfortable with manipulating people.

"Royal flush," she announced, grinning at a middle-aged man in front of her. The rest of them had folded.

She felt quite satisfied when his cocky grin slid off his face. His full house looked awful small all of a sudden.

"Bitch," he sneered vindictively.

"Right back at you, Mister," she said with a sweet smile on her face.

"Why you little—"

"I'm done," Pandora yawned, interrupting what was sure to be a very long and obscene tirade in front of the crowd of people gathered. She had been going at this for a few hours and she was just plain pooped.

There were groans of disappointment from the crowd at the prospect of the mysterious female poker player quitting. The crowd had gathered to the high stakes table when there was talk of a young woman, to be blunt, _owning_ any players that came to that table. This had also gathered wealthy poker players who had tried to beat her only to lose. Sure, the young woman had lost a couple of times, but for the most part, she had dominated the table.

Pandora started to collect her chips. How was she going to carry all of them? Maybe her bag, but it had stuff in it. Was there enough room?

"What the _hell?_"

Pandora perked up when she heard the last voice amidst murmurs going around here and there.

"Liam!" She had no idea why he was here, but him coming was perfect timing.

"How did you—w-why—" He was staring at the mountain of chips with his eyes as round as said chips.

Pandora ignored the strange behaviour. "You came right on time. Help me carry this, will you?"

In turn, he ignored her question. "How much is there?"

Her head tilted up contemplatively. How much... She couldn't really remember. "About 100,000 beli."

"A hundred...?"

"Yeah." She began to shove the cups that they provided at the casino to hold the chips into Liam's hands. "Help me hold them, will you?"

All Liam could manage was a dumbfounded nod.

...

"Aren't you too young to be in here?" Pandora asked as she stuffed the last of the bills into her bag. Last time she checked, this casino was for people 19 and older. _She _barely made the legal age.

Liam blinked. "So?"

"..." She decided to drop the little legal issue that was brought up the moment he stepped foot into the casino. He was looking at her like she was stupid. Admittedly, she kind of agreed since he was a pirate and pirates weren't exactly notorious for their (nonexistent) law-abiding ways.

"Why are you here?" Pandora pressed.

"Captain wanted me to look for you." Liam didn't see the small tic of her jaw. He looked at the bills in his hand that allotted to 5,000 beli. "Are you sure I can take this?"

She waved a hand. "You helped me, after all. You deserve some compensation."

"...I only helped you carry a bunch of paper cups."

"Still," She shrugged. "I don't need that much. Just take it and spend it on something you like. There's loads of things to buy in Sienna de Leone."

"Fine." A pause. "T...thanks." He pocketed the money. He wasn't about to turn away free cash. Lower-ranking members like him tended not to get much their way anyway.

"This is it," Liam said when they stopped walking. "I can't go in since this place has stricter security than that casino."

"..." Pandora stared. That was all she could do. "Liam, where the hell did you take me?"

"Miss Cherry's," he simply said.

"_Dude,_" she said sharply once she could re-grasp the concept of speaking. "This is a...a... unholy place where a man's perverted fantasies come true in a bunch of dirty and demeaning ways to the women of society-"

"A _streeeeper _bar," he shortened her words, purposely putting an emphasis on the word that Pandora didn't seem to want to say. "It's a stripper bar. Captain and some of the crew are in there."

"_Why?_" she choked out.

"To make their _'perverted fantasies come true in a bunch of dirty and demeaning ways to the women of society,'_ of course," he deadpanned. Well, the Captain may be the only exception. He knew for a fact that the Captain didn't particularly care where they drank, so he had had no qualms about saying 'yes' to their current location.

"Well, have fun." He was a bit jealous that he couldn't go in himself, but this was life, unfair as it was. He patted her shoulder.

"I heard that this place has a few men for the odd woman coming in."

He couldn't help but find the horrified expression on Pandora's face to be funny as he pushed her in.

* * *

><p><em>"Whenever you feel like criticizing someone, just remember Pandora: Not everyone has had the same things given to them in life that you've had, nor have they lived the same life you've had."<em>

It was her mother's words that had shaped her view on the world. She became a little more insightful, she supposed, thanks to her mom's words. A little less judgemental too. Maybe it was the fact that she was born to the people that were her parents that the words from her childhood stuck to her a little better than if the same words had been told to another child that were born in different circumstances than her own. She tried to reserve her opinions of people beyond the first impression and tried to look a little bit more to find the true person underneath the outside.

This was why she couldn't judge the women who had decided to become strippers, whether it had been completely free will or they had been backed into a corner.

But she _could _wonder why that woman there was dancing around that pole in such a way. _W-why are her legs opening so widely?_

Pandora looked away from the scene of the strippers on the stage, dancing in provocative ways.

The sooner she found that bastard, the better.

"You..." Pandora saw a fuzzy spotted hat and felt it would be appropriate to point. Needless to say, the owner of the hat did not hear her because of the loud, sexual music going on in the club nor see her because she was too far. She opted for lowering her finger awkwardly and approaching him.

She stopped dead in her tracks, inwardly thanking the strobe lights for hiding the tomato red blush that was likely present on her face.

There was a scantily-clad woman sitting beside Law and whispering in his ear. All she had on was a black corset with pink ribbons, a matching thong, fishnet stockings and heels.

Now, although her mother told her not to judge people, she couldn't help but think the woman was a complete and total _hussy_.

Law seemed perfectly content with the woman. Well, perhaps complacent was more accurate. He was neither discouraging nor encouraging the woman. In fact, he was staring past her and staring straight into Pandora's eyes. His lips curved into a small smirk, which made Pandora start since he had been so emotionless up to now. Still looking at her, Law said something, but she couldn't hear from how far she was. The woman didn't seem to hear either because she leaned into him provocatively, her hands with nails painted a rich pink pressing against his chest.

And for a small moment, Pandora could swear she saw a frown marring his face. She rubbed her eyes and it was gone.

She reluctantly came to him after he dismissed the stripper.

"Is there something the matter, Miss Pandora?" He lazily patted on the seat beside him in the round booth. That was where that woman had sat.

"It's nothing." Pandora sat down on his other side. He raised a questioning eyebrow but she ignored it. She saw half-empty glasses scattered at the table. The rest of the crew must have left to go to the tables near the stage, she surmised. When she had first come in, an advertisement showed her that there was going to be some kind of show coming on soon.

"You realize that this is a place where... certain women are hardly abnormal, right?" he enquired quite bluntly. He gauged her reaction from the corner of his eye, and saw her flinch. There was a moment of silence before she sighed resignedly.

"I guess so..." Pandora was wringing her hands and staring down at them and _nothing _else. "But..." She shuffled uncomfortably.

Law waited patiently.

"But some of them are _naked!_" She whispered the last part, as if afraid that the word was the same as an obscene word. She was staring at her hands.

"Yes, that's usually what goes about here..." He reclined against the leather.

Pandora's eyes narrowed.

"One should be naked when they're in front of someone they like," she said defensively. "The same goes for kissing and making love too; you should do it with someone you like."

He snorted. Her _captain _had snorted. "Someone you like..."

"That's right." She blinked when the strobe lights stopped flashing and the music stopped playing. That show had started. Women with hardly any clothes on started pouring out from behind the curtains to strut their stuff. She looked away quickly. Likewise, Law had no interest on what was on the stage.

"What an idealistic and child-like view," he commented quietly.

"...Shut up," she told him (childishly). She crossed her arms. "What did you want to see me about before I interrupted your... fun."

Law brought the glass of his beverage to eye-level, swishing the contents back and forth nonchalantly.

"I heard that you had combat capabilities and would like you to tell me what they are."

Pause.

"Rene," she hissed vehemently. She knew that hadn't just been an innocent question.

"My crew member was simply following orders. There's no need to be so furious with him," Law said when he felt pure anger radiating from her.

"Oh," she said blandly. "So I'll just direct all my anger towards you."

"That would be best."

Pandora's eye twitched.

"...I'll _show_ you when we get back to the ship," she finally promised, carefully nonchalant. "This isn't really the most appropriate place to show you anything." The hoots and yells of men were overpowering her words, but Law managed to get the gist of it from her lips moving.

"All right, Miss Pandora," he agreed.

There was a moment of silence between them. Not in whole since she doubted there would be any silence after that blonde lady on the stage took off her bra. She glanced at Law and noticed he was finishing up the glass, entirely facing the other way from the stage and making no attempts to turn around. Her temperament softened. She supposed she shouldn't be too disgusted with him. He didn't seem excited or aroused after that "service", just a bit bored and tired.

"Did you have to get Liam to take me here just to ask me that?" Pandora asked.

"Were you preoccupied with something?" The ice cubes in the empty glass clinked.

"Uh..." Pandora was a little sheepish. What should she say that would justify that she had been preoccupied? She had been at the biggest casino in Sienna de Leone gambling. "I was... playing cards."

Law made a noncommittal sound. "So you were in the casino."

Another silence.

Why was talking to him civilly so _awkward_?

She gave a glance from the corner of her eyes, took a deep breath and said, "I didn't expect you to be in a place like this. You don't seem like the type."

He stopped sipping from his glass and put it down.

"And how would you describe my 'type' then, Miss Pandora?" He smirked just a bit. "Your _honest _opinion would be nice."

Against her will, Pandora inwardly recoiled at the interested glint in his half-lidded eyes. W_hy did I say that? Why did he have to ask? Dammit, why did he have to ask?_

"You won't be punished by me," he assured. "After all, I'm the one who's asking."

She stared before firming up her resolve. Might as well be brief about it.

"As a _captain_..." she said vaguely, looking away. She didn't want to go into him as a man. Seriously. "...you're someone who is charismatic when needed but not a sweet talker. I think that it's impressive that you're the doctor and captain of a crew for someone so young. And also, it's nice that you're genuinely cared for and respected by his crew...And in turn genuinely cares for and respects his crew." She added that last part hastily.

Pandora decided to stop there. She heard a murmur, or what sounded like a murmur. It may have just been the loud music. She turned on reflex.

"What?"

"And the bad?" He cocked his head a little and added, "It's courtesy to look at the person you're speaking to."

Pandora was hoping that she was so blinded by the good that he would conveniently forget the bad. She frowned at what he said. _You just want to make sure I'm not lying._

But she didn't turn away.

"Other than your crew, you seem to be the type to use people with little to no regard for their feelings or circumstances. You're arrogant to the point that it can frustrate people sometimes." Was it just her or was her voice getting more forceful? "You're pretty strong but I think that a little humility would do you some good." She was on a roll. Her mouth was moving before her brain. "_And _you may not do it purposefully, but you're the type to withhold information that would be important to others!"

Law rested his chin in his hand. "All right."

Pandora stopped panting long enough to look at him incredulously. "That's it?"

"You want me to do something?"

"No, I don't. You promised you wouldn't," she backtracked hastily before looking away. "But I thought you would be a little more... emotional?"

"I have no reason to. I'm the one who asked the question, Miss Pandora. I predicted some of what you said anyway."

She blinked. "Really?"

"More so the 'bad' than the 'good'," he said. "But I must say that I don't think arrogance is necessarily bad."

She blinked again. Was he _admitting _that he was arrogant?

"Hmm..." He smiled wryly. "I came in here because some of the crew wished for me to be here." He paused and seemed to add as a side note, "Somehow they convinced me to partake in that activity... hm."

"And do _you _want to be here?" Pandora grabbed onto the abrupt topic change since their current topic was making her uncomfortable. It was giving her another side to Trafalgar Law. It irritated her that she had been so adamant beforehand about who he was and he had just... weakened that stubbornness with a single sentence.

"...I would prefer some places to this, but in the end it hardly matters."

"Like whe—"

"THAT was awesome!"

"I know, right?"

Pandora flinched when Penguin and Shachi sat down, banging their glasses on the glass table at the same time.

"It ended five minutes ago," Law remarked.

"Bathroom," the two answered simultaneously.

Pandora looked around and sure enough, the special show was over.

"You said you weren't interested," she said accusingly.

"The music," he replied coolly.

"Fine," she conceded. She looked at him, wondering if he was offended but really couldn't tell.

"Hehe, you probably didn't notice at all since you were staring at the Captain the whole time." Penguin waggled his eyebrows. He had taken his hat off earlier.

"Not for the reasons you may be thinking," Pandora said stubbornly.

"Is that why you're leaning so close to him?" Shachi sounded sober despite him wobbling back and forth on the chair.

"Wh—" She stopped because she saw what they were talking about. In between her explaining what she thought of him and getting frustrated as she went on, she had unconsciously leaned in closer to Law. Her hands were supporting her weight on the seat of the booth, her fingertips brushing against his pant leg.

"We really weren't doing what you think we were doing." She pulled back, not too fast but not too slow.

"Suuure..." Penguin rolled his eyes.

"We _really _weren't..." She looked to Law for some kind of help but he didn't seem to be paying attention to what they were saying. His brow was furrowed and his eyes were distant.

"Because being _proper_ is what a pirate is all about," Shachi said sarcastically, still wobbling to and fro.

"...Speaking of decorum," Law seemed to pull out of his trance. "Penguin. Shachi. Did you go around?"

The pair immediately stopped acting like drunk fools and snapped to attention. Shachi stopped wobbling to and fro. Pandora gaped at the uncanny change.

"Yes, Captain." Penguin nodded. "Boys downstairs need some oil and need to replace some tools and uhh..."

"We made a list of what some of the other guys need, but it's back at the ship," Shachi piped up. "You want one of us to go get it, Captain?"

Law shook his head. "Maybe later. There's some other issues I want to discuss with you two."

"You mean some tweaking with the job allocation?" Shachi suggested.

"Tch..." Penguin scratched his head. "Too many dumbasses got hurt two islands ago."

"I'll give you my diagnoses and we can go from there," was their captain's answer.

Up until now, Pandora had been ignored until Law addressed her curtly. "You can leave. Apologies for holding you up." He sounded slightly sarcastic, which she was finding to just be his natural tone with everything.

"Oh..." She frowned, realizing she had stayed her a lot longer than she had wanted and meant to. Law probably didn't care for her to stay here while he talked to Penguin and Shachi either. She didn't like to admit it but she... she understood. She knew that Penguin and Shachi were pretty friendly to her and Law wasn't the kind of captain to not speak to all of his crew (especially interrogating new recruits). But she also knew there were still lines that ought not to be crossed.

Decorum and such.

"Okay. See you guys then."

"And Miss Pandora?"

"...Hm?" She felt uneasy and didn't know why—

He shut his eyes, turned away. "You're part of my crew now."

Pandora stared for a long while before she understood what he meant.

"Hah!" Penguin snickered at the red on her cheeks. "You're blushing!"

"I'm not," she said evenly before turning away. He didn't even know what Law and her had been talking about!

"Meet in the galley at 9 tomorrow and me and Shachi will give you a list of supplies to get!" Shachi hollered as she was leaving very, very quickly.

* * *

><p>"<em>Other than your crew, you seem to be the type to use people with little to no regard for their feelings or circumstances."<em>

"_You're part of my crew now."_

Pandora stopped in her aimless wandering. She ought to be happy. Acceptance was always nice. She just wasn't sure whether acceptance into a pirate crew was nice for her. She thought of her interactions with the crew and the small but significant talk she had with Law.

That settled it. She was happy.

"Pandora... Sasha Fierce... Your mother always did have a horrid taste in names."

Her heart stopped. She felt like an invisible hand was squeezing the fleshy organ, slowly squeezing the life out of it at the same time. She put her hand to her chest and realized that the silly notion of her heart stopping was far from the truth. In fact, it was racing a mile a minute. She slowly turned around.

_"Remember, Pandora. Always remember to run whenever you see these faces in the pictures I'm about to show you."_

This man's face -she knew it was a man from the voice- was obscured beneath the shadows of a nondescript store she had been passing. She didn't know what the man looked like, but somehow... somehow she knew it was someone from _that_ group. Him saying her mother's alias was enough of a confirmation for her.

Pandora played it cool. It was all she could do when she was really shaking in her boots.

"My mother didn't name me," she finally said. Then, "Who are you?"

"You should know who I am, or at least the organization I am in. I imagine Sasha told you of us."

"She warned me to run," she confirmed. Her scars, the ones from her childhood, itched for some reason. She placed her hand on her skirt where the wounded skin was.

"Will you?" He shifted, just a miniscule rustle of clothes that told her he was prepared to go after her if she did.

"I doubt I could do it successfully." The woman smiled bitterly. "Have you come to kill me?" She was prepared to fight for her life if that was the case.

She could see his head shake.

"Your existence is of no great consequence to us right now. It was your mother that we would have killed if anything, but Sasha is already dead, is she not?"

Oh. The lump in her throat wasn't going away.

"...What did you want then?" Pandora asked shakily. Her mother had died a few years ago, prompting Pandora's decision to begin travelling. She had already shed all her tears for her mom, but that didn't stop Pandora from thinking of her every now and then.

"You have become a member of the Heart Pirates." It was more of a statement than a question. His eyes narrowed. "Canoodling with pirate scum... exactly like your mother."

She wanted to deny that she was a member, but reality reared its ugly head. She _was _part of the Heart Pirates, whether she liked it or not. She had agreed and wasn't really there against her will. The reason for her agreeing rather easily when Law asked was in her bag. Something so simple to anyone's eyes, but was so important to her.

...It had been important to her mom.

She had to get to the New World. That was the only reason she had willingly joined.

"You are trying to find your father," he told her. "We know where he is and we will tell you his location in exchange for a favour, you could say."

"You know where he is...?" She had been trying to find him for a while now and knew for a fact that the man was not lying. He had the means to find such information, after all, so she doubted he would lie to her about something as huge as this. "What's this favour you want from me?"

"The entirety of our organization has been given a side mission. While it does not require our immediate attention, it would be best for it to be nipped in the bud, so to speak."

"What is it?" she repeated warily. He was babbling, she thought. All she wanted to know was what the heck he wanted. Long-winded explanations didn't suit her that much.

"Help us capture Trafalgar Law and the Heart Pirates."

...Pure, unadulterated shock.

"...Any particular reason why you guys are involved in something that the Marines should be doing?"

The man sighed. "Lately, there have been an unusual amount of rookies coming into the Grand Line. Rookies with high bounties," he clarified. "We've been given the task to capture rookies like Eustass 'Captain' Kidd, Basil Hawkins, Red X Drake, Trafalgar Law and more. These rookies have displayed the potential to be a serious threat to the government if they are not dealt with as soon as possible. Think of us as extra help to capture dangerous criminals for the World Government. Of course, even we have to report to an admiral since the Marines are related to this matter."

"And you need me because..."

"You're a smart young woman." If she could see his face and not just his eyes, she would bet he would be sporting a rather wry look right now. "I imagine you know that we would use whatever means or opportunities that are presented to us in order to complete this mission."

So basically, they knew that she needed to find her father and had the information of where he was to bribe her with. Pandora shuddered inwardly. She was kind of creeped out that they had been watching her movements, but tried to ignore the feeling. Now that she thought of it, it should have been expected, seeing as to who her mother had been.

"Can I give you my answer later?"

His voice was hard and filled with disgust. "...Have you grown close with these vermin?"

"No," Pandora answered immediately. "It's just that there are some risks that come with scheming to betray a man who could kill me without batting an eyelash," she said sardonically.

"Hmph."

The pair entered some kind of brutal stare-down, where neither side wavered.

"...Fine," he finally said. "When you have arrived to Vernon is when I will expect your decision."

"And say if I don't say yes..." she hedged.

"You will be killed for knowing of this plan." She knew he was smiling. "We're not known for leaving any loose ends."

And with that, he disappeared.

She flopped to the ground, her shaking legs no longer able to keep her up.

Merciless. Absolutely merciless.

She was... scared.

* * *

><p><strong>writrgrl: <strong>He'll be teasing her is a guarantee. ;D As for the mystery man, he's been introduced more in this chapter, though his identity is still... a _mystery whoo~_

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** I usually update on Fridays, but the feedback for this story as well as the new manga chapter were great motivators.  
>Can anyone guess the organization the mystery man is from? Bonus! for guessing his identity (Yes, he is a canon character).<p>

What would be a **nice name** for a baby Den Den Mushi? A fairly ordinary name would be nice. You can probably guess that this baby Den Den Mushi will be part of the story later by my asking.

Thanks for reading and please leave feedback.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Thank you to **HibariTsunayoshi-Kun**, **Shadowed-Shikyo**, **PhoenixRage92**, **writrgrl**, **Luhuna**, **Girlkitsune** and **Fella136** for the reviews. They made my heart a-flutter with happiness.

* * *

><p><strong>Pick Your Poison<strong>  
><strong>Chapter 7<strong>

**.**

**.**

**.**

* * *

><p>Pandora's arms stretched high as she let out a sigh.<p>

The sun warmed her skin as she faced the clear, blue skies. She hadn't really been out of the submarine much since Law seemed to prefer efficiency over pleasure. They moved faster underwater and so the man had decided that they would be primarily travelling underwater, even though it was unneeded. That didn't mean that they didn't surface every once in a while, but less than she would have liked.

Pandora rubbed her eyes. Her entire body felt sluggish. She hadn't been sleeping well these past few days ever since Sienna de Leone.

_Because of the offer from that man... _she thought.

Besides how it was a lose-lose situation since Law could and would kill her (painfully) if he found out or how she would be killed by that man if she said no, the offer also put into light her own morals. She had sworn her loyalty to Law the moment she accepted his offer. Would it really be all right to betray him after doing something like that? At the same time, he was a pirate. She would be doing the world a favour by helping to ship him off to Impel Doom. Right?

She just... didn't know.

"Are you quite done, Miss Pandora?"

Give it to him to wreck her train of thought. She'd figure it out when they got to Vernon. She was sure that she would find the answer to her question there. It was a gut feeling.

She reluctantly dropped her arms. "Yeah, yeah." Their manner towards one another didn't change all too much after Sienna de Leone, but she could sense progress and that was good enough for her.

Pandora turned to Law, who was leaning against the railing. She _could've _told him that since he was a Devil Fruit user, he shouldn't be so close to the water's edge, but then thought better of it. She didn't care, not at all. "Who am I fighting?"

"You'll be showing whatever skills you have with Bepo."

"I hope you don't get too hurt," Bepo stepped forward. "But that doesn't mean I'm going to go easy on you."

"Erm..."

Law blinked slowly.

"Yes?"

"...Well..." While Pandora had agreed to showing whatever skills in combat she had, she hadn't expected an _audience _with them.

Shachi shrugged. "All of us just happened to be up here at the same time you and Captain did."

"Hear, hear! It's just a coincidence! We're not watching you at all!" Penguin cried. There was a chorus of agreements amongst the crew.

"Why is there a crowd of people around me and Pandora then?" Bepo enquired innocently.

...

"SHUDDUP, BEPO!"

"Sorr-"

Before Bepo could finish, Pandora intervened. "Bepo's right. You guys are watching us." She smiled though and the crowd (excluding Law) gawped. "But you can watch if Captain doesn't mind..."

Law chuckled. "I don't mind at all."

She didn't say a word after that. She simply put a hand to her collar.

**Clink.**

She sighed and felt the familiarity of weight in her hands.

* * *

><p>Law's dark half-lidded eyes watched the entertainment unfold eagerly. The grin on his face made the crew members closest to him back away. It was a grin of absolute enjoyment, no strings attached. The man hardly wore his emotions, despite how arguably twisted the one he had now, on his sleeve. The crew could not even fill one hand with how many times they saw him so... open with his feelings.<p>

He was honestly enjoying his first mate and the young woman attacking each other with paws and pointy weaponry, respectively.

Actually, maybe that was to be expected from someone dubbed the Surgeon of Death.

She wasn't as good as Bepo, but she wasn't bad either.

It had been surprising to all the men when the "toy" swords on her necklace (which they knew now were not toys) had grown in size and came to be clutched in her hand. Their first thought was that she was some kind of witch with unearthly powers and became immediately afraid of her for fear of any of her evil wrath.

She backflipped clumsily but impressively well with a sword in her hand as Bepo aimed a kick at her. The crew had just a brief second of what they had been secretly vying to see without being met with disapproval from their Captain.

Their second thought was that a girl who wore stripped underwear couldn't possibly be a witch.

Let us focus on a particular duo that we all know somewhat well.

Shachi handed Penguin a tissue.

"I'm not a pervert..." Penguin said halfheartedly as he wiped his bloodied nose.

Shachi nodded.

"I know."

* * *

><p>Bepo was good.<p>

Really good.

_Okay_, she thought as she dodged a strike from the air after he jumped up. _Maybe... he's great._ He wasn't a lightweight, that was for sure.

Pandora didn't have a second to recover from her backflip before she was met with an accompanying roundhouse kick.

_No time to dodge. _She lifted the flat edge of her sword to her attacker, grunting when his kick hit the metal instead, sending reverberations through her body as she skidded back on the deck. Gripping the hilt tighter than necessary, she sprang forward, using her right foot to propel herself. She was quite aware that if she did land a hit on the polar bear, that it could injure him, so she used the flat edge of the blade to strike. Bepo pushed –more like swatted— the blade to the side before he kicked her in the stomach. Hard.

Pandora flew back as the crew scuttled away from her airborne form. Though the railing wasn't intentionally meant to injure (that would be a strange function for railings anyway), she still felt the poles digging into her back as she landed. She winced as her head hit against the railing too. Meekly, she put her fingertips gently on the back of her head. It felt tender but thankfully it wasn't bleeding.

_...I don't feel so good._

"That's enough," Law said, puncturing the silence like a needle to a balloon.

Pandora could see a pair of boots approaching her. Several pairs, actually. Her vision must be blurring, or was it that the whole crew was coming towards her? She felt sick. Her stomach was rebelling, threatening to throw up its contents. The only reason she wasn't vomiting must be because she hadn't been eating lately. Wearily, she dropped her hand from her head. Every part of her body felt like lead that she struggled to stand as someone approached her.

"Good work, Miss Pandora." She saw someone talking to her, but her sluggish mind wouldn't come up with a name to the face. And what a handsome face it was... "I hadn't expected _you to keep up with Bepo for_..." The man's voice was slowly fading, blurring messily into nothing identifiable like a child's finger painting. Her eyes shut.

She could feel herself fall forward, felt warmth surrounding her, a hand on her back and the smell of something enticingly spicy.

She blacked out.

* * *

><p>Pandora woke up to voices shouting.<p>

_"—her too hard!"_

_"Sorry..."_

"I'm fine," her voice came out as a croak. "Really, I am." She was on a bed and she realized that it was the same type of bed as in hospitals.

"Pandora!" the voices cried. "You're awake!"

"Shachi, Penguin, Bepo..." she addressed tiredly. She was in the medical bay. Why was she there anyway? Hadn't she been on the deck?

"You're finally up!" Penguin exclaimed happily.

"You've been asleep ever since your fight with Bepo yesterday," Shachi said further when he saw the perplexed look on her face.

"I see... That long, huh." She still felt a little weary, but it wasn't as bad as yesterday. She didn't know that she had been so tired that she would faint though. "Why am I in the med bay though?"

"The Captain had to dress your wounds," Shachi explained.

"And he thought you might as well sleep here," Penguin piped up.

"Oh, so then-"

"That's enough questions. Miss Pandora is due for another check-up."

Law came in, steps sure but slow. Around his neck hung a stethoscope and in his hands were medical apparatus.

He addressed him subordinates. "Go back to work. She needs to eat after this and the less disturbances, the better."

At Pandora's questioning look, he gestured to the tray of food at her side. She rubbed her eyes. Had she really been so tired that she hadn't noticed that?

Shachi and Penguin obediently filed out after saying goodbye to her. The metal door shut with a clang.

"Bepo?" Law raised an eyebrow at his lingering first mate.

"Sorry, Pandora. I'm really sorry." The polar bear's ears were flattened, visually showing her just how distressed he was. "I didn't mean for you to faint like that. Does it really hurt?"

Pandora carefully kept the wince out of her expression as she sat up.

"Not really." She laughed sheepishly. "I don't think I fainted because of our fight, so don't worry too much about it."

"Are you sure?" Bepo questioned, dark eyes keen but still sad.

"I'm sure."

"Oh." He blinked, straightened up and was back to his normal self again. Pandora was bemused. "Okay. You got hurt _a lot _during our fight compared to me, but don't take too long to heal." He nodded to his captain before ambling out.

"Is he always like that...?" Pandora asked.

"You'll become accustomed to the rest of my crew with time," was all Law said. He took a seat on the stool by her bedside. "I'll be checking on your overall health, though I imagine the latter won't have changed from the last time I check on you."

Pandora stared as Law looked down to retrieve what he needed to conduct the check up. Eh... His seriousness surprised her.

"Open your mouth please." He stuck a tongue depressor into her mouth and peered into it. "Nothing swollen..." he murmured under his breath. He pulled out a flashlight from his jeans pocket and lifted her chin. The suddenness of the action surprised her. If Law saw her red face, he didn't say anything. His actions were coolly professional. He gave her instructions as he shone the light into her eyes.

The rest of the partial check up was a blur up until he asked her to lift up her shirt.

"What?" she squawked stupidly.

"Lift up your shirt so that I can feel your heartbeat," Law calmly said as he adjusted the stethoscope around his neck.

"..." She looked away from him as she lifted up her blouse until it was above her bandaged chest. She knew that her face was not hot enough to fry an egg on it when she felt his hand accidentally skim the underside of her breast. She felt cool metal on her skin for about ten seconds before it was pulled away. She hurriedly put her blouse down and turned toward him. He was taking the plug thingies of the stethoscope out from his ears.

"Eat." He threw the tongue depressor into a nearby trash can. "Or would you rather I feed you if you're too weak to do so yourself, Miss Pandora?"

"...Shut up," Pandora muttered as she put the tray on her lap. "Your bedside manner is terrible for a doctor's, by the way," she added before cramming a spoonful of lukewarm soup through her lips. She wolfed down the rest and it was only then that she realized how hungry she had really been.

"It comes with being a pirate and a doctor," he said wryly. "But I digress. You aren't sick and you only have bruises and minimal cuts. The only thing that could have possibly have caused you to faint was the concussion to your head, but after I examined you, I found that it was only a mild concussion."

He propped his chin on his hand as his arm rested on his knee. "Bepo tells me you haven't been eating."

...This was Pandora's cue to eat slower. Well, if she had any more food, she would have. As it was, she had already finished the bread and the soup. Dammit. Accidentally proved his point.

"While there may be limits –as few as they are— that I have, I believe that you would agree that my crew's health is important to me as a captain and a doctor." His eyes narrowed.. "I'd advise against not eating in the future."

"Don't treat me like a kid," Pandora blurted out. He was speaking to her like a child that needed scolding and she didn't like it. Not one bit. Even though she knew it was true, it had been because she had been thinking about that man's offer. But she couldn't tell Law that. Not without fear of getting hurt. Or getting killed.

"Then don't act like a child, Miss Pandora," Law quipped sharply. He stood up. "You can go back to sleep now. Your skills will be unneeded for quite some time, so sleep as much as you want."

His beside manner _really _sucked.

"I'm not going to sleep," she said stubbornly.

She was satisfied to hear an annoyed _tch. _At least until she felt him grab each side of her face firmly, so that she was unable to look away from him. His eyes quietly burned with irritation and she paled. She hurriedly tried to jerk away but he kept a firm grip.

"The reason you fainted was because of a combination of sleep deprivation and skipping meals." his callused thumbs began to rub gently against the skin under her eyes, as gently as a man to his lover would act. He sighed. "It wouldn't be good to the crew's well-being if you fainted while we were, say, fighting Marines, wouldn't it?"

She didn't answer.

...

"...Fine, I'll go to sleep," she quietly said.

"Good." There was no smile or chuckle or anymore words. He just left.

Pandora flopped on the bed. Great. She was fighting with the Captain now. Just great.

Now she really couldn't sleep.

* * *

><p>Law had been right. She hadn't been working at all. Her job as informant(?) was arguably an important job and she had gotten a little conceited. Pandora had done something horrible.<p>

She had lazed around.

Pandora thought it rather unfair that Law hadn't given her any tasks.

Then she noted that it was entirely her fault for not pulling up any initiative to ask him.

Since they were in a disagreement, Pandora thought that asking Law was unwise and instead went to the one place where she knew she would be welcome. One way or another.

...Eh, hopefully.

"Oh! _Ma chérie (My dear)_! Are you fine with all ze walking you are doing?"

Yep. She had come into the kitchen. Despite the warnings from Shachi and Penguin and the questions of whether she was feeling all right in the head to be entering Rene's Kitchen, she _had _entered. Suffice it to say, she didn't get brained by a ladle like the duo had said. Instead, the burly man had gathered her into his arms and proceeded to hug the living daylights out of her.

Oh god, her bruises...

"I'm...fine..." she wheezed. "Please...let me...go...!" Pandora shakily landed on her feet as she was dropped. She staggered as Rene looked at her guiltily. "I thought you were going to hit me since everybody was telling me you don't let people in your kitchen... Is it because I'm a girl?"

He waved a meaty hand. "Oh non! I do not discriminate between ze men or ze women! I hit everyone if it iz found to be appropriate!"

"Oh...That's good... I guess." _At least he doesn't discriminate...?_ "Then why..." Rene refused to make eye contact with her and she got an inkling of the reason why. "Are you feeling guilty about telling the Captain about me having some skills in combat?"

Rene nodded shamefully, the chef hat in his hands scrunching together. "Oui, I had never thought that the Captain would put you up against ze bear! Perhaps against a lower-ranking member, but not ze bear! Definitely not ze bear!"

"Not your fault at all," Pandora assured as she tried to secretly rub her sore back. "You were only taking orders from the Captain, after all." As for her being pitted against Bepo... she had a feeling that it was Law paying her back for all the thinly veiled sass she had been giving him.

"Are you sure?" Rene asked.

"Weeell," She flashed a grin. "If you still feel guilty, you could do me a small favour."

He returned the grin with one of his own. "Ask me what and I will do my best to have ze favour completed."

* * *

><p>"You're <em>crazy<em>. Absolutely off your bloody rocker!"

"Mm... Hand me another one, will you?"

Liam obliged before he continued his tirade. "How could _anyone _want to work for Rene? Did that concussion do something to your mental capabilities? Are you sure you don't want to get checked on by the Captain again because I _really_ think you should get checked on by the Captain."

"Another one, please. Oh. Wait, just put the bag in the middle so that we both can get at it." Pandora pulled the bag of potatoes that needed to be peeled between them.

"Are you listening? And how are you peeling them so fast?" he added in as an afterthought when he saw her swift movements. He had been doing this damn peeling way before her and already she had caught up.

"Hmm... my mom was lousy at housework so I did a lot of the cooking and cleaning," she replied.

"...So, what did your mom do then?"

Pandora squinted at nothing before she brightened, mischief bright in her eyes. "She taught me how to defend myself against a man if I were ever caught in a bad situation."

She smiled. "Grab, twist, pull."

Liam cocked an eyebrow. "Grab, twist, pull what?"

Her smile was now taking up half her face as she beamed at him. "Guess."

"Huh? Why can't you just-" He paled and squeezed his legs together unconsciously. "Oh."

"Yeah."

"...What did your dad do then?" He cursed under his breath when he nicked his finger again. Thankfully, it was only a superficial cut, no bleeding. While it wasn't recommended to keep peeling potatoes with any kind of cut, he continued anyway. If he stopped every time he got a cut, Rene would _kill _him. He hadn't signed up for kitchen duty when he joined the Heart Pirates, but he didn't want any trouble with getting promoted, so he would have to bare with the fat bastard until he did get higher up the ladder.

"Bummed around."

Liam flinched at her dark tone and said, "I...I see." He mentally noted not to ask her about her dad anymore than necessary.

...

"You have to clean the gunk off."

Liam looked up from the random sentence out of nowhere.

"Excuse me?"

"Here, use this," Pandora handed him a damp towel. He could see potato smears on it, but it was still fairly clean. "Use it to clean the peeler, so that you'll cut better. As for how to cut faster, you have to get into a rhythm. You keep stopping every now and then."

"Ah, thanks." He did what she said and the peeling did go a little quicker.

There was a companionable silence between them as Liam peeled the last potato. It was in this silence that he realized that she hadn't answered his question.

"Why are you working for Rene again?" he asked again.

She didn't answer immediately, so Liam being the somewhat observant teenager he was at times took it as an opportunity to simply ponder about Pandora. She had a Bros over Hoes appeal, he guessed. The thing is... that he thought of her as a bro more than a hoe, despite her gender being painfully obvious.

She was someone to talk to over the hiss of pots and clatter of Rene bounding around the kitchen. After all, his few conversations with Rene hadn't been that great (_"You call these chopped carrots? I 'ave seen blind poodles with hand-eye coordination problems chop bettar than ze shit you ar' chopping and they do not 'ave ze opposable thumbs!" "SHUT UP about the blind poodles already!"_). It helped that she was pretty nice too, though she did seem a more antagonistic with the captain from what was going around the barracks.

Yes, certain men talked (gossiped) too when it involved the only woman in a certain submarine.

Pandora finally answered. "When you said I was useless, you were right." She sighed. "I decided to do something to remedy it."

"Then why didn't you ask the Captain?" Liam was positive the captain would have been more than happy to oblige giving her work if she asked.

"I don't want to talk to him," she admitted softly.

The expression of absolute incredulity made the woman scowl.

"Don't say anything about how he's oh so wonderful and crap like that." It wasn't like... it wasn't like she couldn't admit that he was a good captain, but she didn't want to hear any of it right now.

There went his attack phrases. Liam bit his tongue. Arguing with Pandora didn't seem like a wise decision, but still, it felt important to tell her some stuff. He was just hoping she wouldn't get huffy and defensive like a lot of girls usually do when chided.

"Why are you mad at him?" He had a feeling but needed to confirm it.

"He ordered me to sleep and I didn't want to..."

Liam stared. He was trying to be neutral. He really was, but it was so difficult when Pandora said things like that. "...That's kind of the Captain's _job_, Pandora. You know, captain and doctor?"

He wiped his icky hands off the towel he had been using, his eyes focused on the task.

There was a pause. She had finished peeling her portion of the potatoes and was frowning.

"Am I being unreasonable here?" she finally asked.

He gave a nod of thanks when she started to help him out with his share.

"A little," he admitted, but got the stark feeling that the captain ordering her to sleep was not the whole story. "But you seem pretty... sensible. Maybe you got a bad impression of the Captain? Do you not like him?" If she said yes, that would open up a load of questions for Liam, including why she joined the crew.

Her frown deepened. "I don't think I do."

"You don't _think_you do?"

She brushed her hair away from her eyes, grimacing when she saw the potato on her hands. Liam saw some potato in her hair.

"I got a bad impression of him during my recruitment," she said ambiguously, her eyes shifting away from him. "That may have made me a little biased, but I can tell you that I don't hate him."

"Bad impression _how_?' Liam questioned.

Pandora waved a hand around hastily. "Doesn't matter."

"But—"

"It _really _doesn't matter, Liam."

He got the message loud and clear: Do _not _ask anymore. "I see. Then is your bias the reason you fought?"

"I've been stressed the last few days and I think I just took it out on him." She seemed to struggle with her admission but at least she was doing it.

"Why were you stressed?"

"..." Pandora blinked and didn't answer for a long moment before saying, "I was on my period."

"Oh. Oh!" Liam croaked. "That's... oh." He ended that flatly.

She smirked a little, but it was friendly. "Yeah."

He coughed very loudly into his hand to muffle his embarrassment. "You should apologize to him then." His tone wasn't reproachful, but gently chiding, like an adult scolding their kid.

"...I don't want to, but I know I'm a wilful person too." Pandora laughed a little but did not say a word. Liam could only hope that she would take his words to heart.

* * *

><p><strong>writrgrl:<strong> Thank you! I changed that little part. (: Facial expressions? Thank you, I'm happy you felt at least a little emotional while reading. As for Pandora's past, all will be revealed in due time~ She still has some secret stuff about her that's only been touched upon.

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><p><strong>AN:** Thank you for reading and **please give feedback**. It motivates me greatly.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N:** Thank you to **Shadowed-Shikyo**, **HibariTsunayoshi-Kun**, **fearlessX1025**, **GirlKitsune**, **writrgrl**, **CrazyFool65**, **Sharingan Hime**, **Devilishcrow** and **PhoenixRage92** for the super duper pooper scooper reviews. (: Except not really the pooper scooper. I just liked adding it since it rhymed.

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><p><strong>Pick Your Poison<strong>  
><strong>Chapter 8<strong>

**.**

**.**

* * *

><p>"Soo... have you gotten injured by Rene yet?"<p>

Pandora thoughtfully drank a sip of water. She thought back to the short time she had been in the kitchen.

"No, I don't think so," she said.

There were varying degrees of shock and horror.

"You mean he didn't punch you for entering his kitchen even though he specifically told us not to?" Shachi winced while rubbing an invisible wound on his cheek.

"Rene didn't try to pull out your fur because you said his food tasted terrible?" Bepo tilted his head.

"Or tried to castrate you when you tried to sneak out some food?" Penguin piped in as he squeezed his legs together with an incredibly pained expression, then said in a quiet voice, "...Not that he didn't try."

"...No, he didn't," Because she had never done anything as offensive as that in the first place...

They looked amazed.

That made her a little irritated.

She took their mutterings as a chance to survey the galley. There was no one there since it was after dinner and almost 12. Before her duties in the kitchen, she had usually slept even later than this, but now... it was unwise to. She had to wake up early every day to prepare breakfast and Rene needed all the help he could get in the mornings since Liam absolutely _refused _to wake up early.

The youth had even gone into the gory details of how it was resolved between him and Rene. Pandora had to admit... the Incident had been pretty bad. She was surprised he had gone against Rene since he usually went along with whatever the huge man said.

"—hasn't again..." Penguin said sadly.

"I care more about the Captain's well-being, but Gale should too. What if he collapses? Then what'll happen to us?" Shachi looked frustrated.

They had moved on to something else in the blink of an eye.

"What are you talking about?"

"Oh, you see, the Captain and our navigator, Gale, don't really eat much... We're a little worried for them," Bepo explained to Pandora.

"...They are stupid," she stated, despite the blinding obviousness. Pandora frowned. She didn't know Gale, but she assumed he was as much of a dumbass as the captain if he wasn't eating. What could be the reason that that pair of dumbasses weren't eating? She wouldn't be surprised if a member wasn't taking care of their health (since she had done something like that before...ahem), but hadn't Law been going on and on about how the health of the crew was important? She doubted that sentiment didn't apply to him too.

The scrape of her chair made the trio start.

"What are you doing, Pandora?" Bepo blinked in that usual innocent fashion of him that she couldn't help but give him a quick glomp on her way to the kitchen.

"Stupid bear..." Shachi muttered under his breath.

"Lady bears?" the furry talking animal asked as Pandora looked at the forlorn expressions of Shachi and Penguin with a perplexed blink. All she had done was hug him.

"I'm going to go make them something to eat," she told them cheerily.

"Okay," Penguin said, looking at her as if she was crazy to be inciting the wrath of Rene upon her. It vaguely reminded her of how Bepo looked at her when he repeated Law's orders to write her knowledge down.

She snorted. "I won't make anything fancy. Nothing that needs a stove or anything."

_That doesn't mean he won't try to kill you_, Shachi and Penguin's eyes said.

"That doesn't mean he won't try to kill you," Bepo told her gently.

Shachi and Penguin groaned at Bepo's tact, or lack of thereof.

Pandora grinned at their behaviour before making her way to the kitchen.

* * *

><p>When opportunity shows itself, one must strike!<p>

Yes, she just had to keep telling herself that.

Pandora breathed in once, held it in, let it out, and then pushed open the door.

* * *

><p>"Pardon," a soft voice interrupted.<p>

"Come in."

Pandora's movements were subtly nervous but she couldn't help it. She hadn't confronted Law ever since their disagreement. She watched Law watch her manoeuvre herself inside the cramped control room.

Pandora felt even more unnerved when she put herself in front of him, but chose to ignore it.

"I brought food for you," Pandora explained as she held out the tray to Law. He took it silently with a nod of thanks, but did not say a word. She raised an eyebrow. He must have been really tired if he hadn't even said anything. She pursed her lips, wondering why he was even in the control room in the first place before going to the man steering the ship, the one known as Gale. She could feel Law's eyes on her the entire time. It sent a shiver up her spine...

She supposed it was because she was still anxious by their fight from a few days ago.

The navigator stayed resilient in his task to navigate the ship, both hands on the wheel and back straight against his chair. His dedication was admirable to say the least.

"Umm... Mister Gale?"

"What is it?" he asked gruffly, taking a second to adjust his cap with one hand before swiftly returning it to the controls.

"I brought you food..." She was about to place the plate beside him...

"Don't put that _there_," he practically growled. She jumped. She usually wasn't this jumpy but she was also avoiding something inevitable.

"You can eat it now..." she suggested lightly. "If you're worried about the controls, then I could take them for a few minutes." She didn't know how to operate a submarine, but as long as Gale gave her instructions on what to do for the short period he ate his sandwich she would be fine. She knew how important it was to have a steady hand as a navigator since she had had to get around the ocean herself.

"You?" Gale snorted. "I doubt you could do it. You would let go of the controls and then guess what? We would _die_."

...He was serious about his job. Commendable.

But she had to confess that he was too stubborn for his own good.

"Don't be stupid," Pandora told him pleasantly despite the vein that appeared on her forehead. "What if _you _let go of the controls if you started starving? Food gives you energy." She smiled sweetly. "You wouldn't be a very good navigator if you didn't have any energy to navigate the ship, which is why you should starting eating."

There was a long drawn out silence between the three occupants. Pandora felt sweat trickle down her brow. Had she been too forward again? She knew her mouth was sometimes a problem... Ack.

"Fine, I'll eat your goddamn sandwich." He finally turned towards her and she felt a little bit of happiness and sad nostalgia well up inside her.

"You have the same shade of eyes like my mom," Pandora blurted out. Again. They were a light blue, like the colour of the ocean's surface on a sunny day.

"What." Gale cringed. "Am I supposed to take that as a compliment?"

She realized her words and her eye twitched at her stupidity. "Uhh... ignore that please."

"Duly noted," he grunted and took the plate from her hands with one hand. "Here, I'll show you how to use the controls. And _please_," She blinked at his tone. "Hold. Still."

Pandora gulped nervously as he finished his instructions and let her take the helm. The steady hand she was so proud of was shaking. What if she really did let go of the controls and then a lot of alarms would start blaring because of her clumsiness and they went spiralling to the sea's bottom in a gruesome death?

Haha... she was making herself more and more nervous.

Pandora clenched her fists tighter around the warm metal and focused on the dark waters in front of her. It was hard job, she could see. The headlights of the submarine only provided a range of about ten meters. Other than those lights, everything outside the window was pitch black.

"Done," Gale grumbled as he nudged her off of his seat. She stumbled to get off.

Pandora looked at him. He went right back to ignoring her, but she still felt oddly satisfied. He hadn't even commented on the taste, but he had finished it quicker than she thought. It was nice to think the reason to be because he liked the sandwich, despite the plainness of the meal.

"Just to tell you..." She peered at Gale from the side. "We're about three hours from the next island. You can relax for a while after we landed." She would give him a comforting pat on the shoulder if she knew how he would react. "You have done a great job so far though, Mister Gale."

"...Gale."

"Huh?" She had been collecting his plate.

"Just call me Gale. No need for the 'Mister' crap. Too formal for me."

"Riight, okay." Pandora couldn't help the silly grin on her face.

"Yeah, _okay_. Now go away," he waved a hand.

...

"Three hours." Law tilted his head at the young woman collecting the trays.

"Eavesdropper," Pandora murmured under her breath.

"It's a small room," he commented lightly.

She didn't retort. Instead, her eyes narrowed thoughtfully before she told him, "I need to talk to you." She glanced meaningfully to Gale. "In _private_."

Gale snorted when he felt two pairs of eyes on the back of his head.

"Great, girlie," he said sardonically. "I'll just stop steering this sub and give you two some alone time to _talk in private_. We'll see if we reach the island in three hours with no one manning the sub."

Case in point, Pandora and Law left the control room. They didn't wander far, but just far enough.

Law leaned against the wall on his shoulder. "What did you want to talk about?"

Pandora pursed her lips. She wanted to say _it _to him. That's part of the reason why she had made him and Gale something to eat. The way to a man's heart was to his stomach, after all. Although... she didn't think Trafalgar Law was the kind of man to be swayed with food nor did he seem to have the kind of heart she was thinking of.

Is that why this was so hard?

Or maybe it was guilt, she didn't know.

"I wanted to say sorry for my behaviour," she reluctantly said. "I overstepped my bounds..._several _times while I have been here."

He didn't say a word, so she forged on.

"At the beginning, though you and I know that you had threatened me to join, I still had decided to join even before you had done so," she continued. "I'll try to be a little less... insolent." No matter how hard it would be. "I think that... in the bar in Sienna de Leone, I realized that there are crew dynamics." Penguin, Shachi and even Bepo were higher up than her. "I'll respect that too as well as you being the captain."

"I'll accept your apology..." he began, carefully slow. She drew back when he stopped resting on the wall. "I apologize as well for my behaviour before..." It was her turn to be surprised. She bit her lip. She had underestimated him, thinking he wouldn't try to apologize at all. He smirked, but it wasn't a cocky one. "As I said, you're in my crew and not a stowaway anymore. I'll treat you as such."

Pandora turned her eyes away at his even gaze.

Still, it felt like a tremendous weight had been lifted. It felt nice. He hadn't been difficult either, just like that time when she had, point blank, refused to write anything down despite how he had ordered her to as a Captain to his subordinate.

"...Thank you," she said quietly. Her lashes lowered. "Is there anything you need from me before I turn in for the night, Captain?"

There they were, back to being leader and subordinate. And yet, like in Sienna de Leone, it felt like something palpable had changed between them. She just couldn't pinpoint what.

"Yes, there is. I wanted to know about what that is." He gestured to her necklace.

Pandora blinked. That was an easy question. "My dad gave it to me when I was really young. It's something he got while travelling around the Grand Line. The New World, to be specific."

"Really..." Law raised an eyebrow. It was a little funny to him how all three generations had taken to travelling the Grand Line, but paid no mind to that detail. "Would you mind explaining to me how it works, Miss Pandora?"

"I'm not that sure about the specific mechanics of it." She could sense no sarcasm from his questions, except the usual. Only genuine curiosity, so she answered with sincerity in turn. "I think it uses my –what was it?— Haki to 'activate' it, for lack of a better term."

"I didn't know of a Haki that made objects bigger," he said dryly. "Enlighten me on this type of Haki, if you will."

She deflated inwardly. Well, she didn't actually know if it was Haki or not. It was her own theory that she was using Haki. It was just the thing that made the most sense when she thought about it.

"...I don't know," she struggled to get the words out. "It just seemed to be kind of like Busoshoku Haki since it helps me... defend myself...?"

Wow, she kind of sounded stupid when she thought about what Busoshoku Haki actually was.

"I see."

"Mhm," Pandora hummed out. She was incredibly tired. It wouldn't surprise her if she fell asleep on her feet right now.

"What can you tell me about the next island we're going to?"

She perked up at the prospect of actually _knowing _the answer to Law's question.

"It's one of the islands that take a longer time to set the Log pose than the other islands," she told her intrigued captain. One week. It wasn't like they could do anything productive there either since it was an uninhabited, jungle island. But there were some things that were a bit interesting about it. Supposedly, a small ancient civilization once lived on the island a long time ago, judging by the ruins that her grandfather had found when he had been here.

She couldn't help but smile. She wasn't a real keener in history, but it was always interesting to find out some things about people long gone. If Law allowed it, she could explore the island trying to find these ruins he had written of in his journals.

"I wouldn't say anything unproductive, Miss Pandora," Law told her after she finished her explanation. Pandora eyed him warily. She had a bad feeling about this...

"Lost civilizations usually have something of value. It wouldn't do any harm to try to find them while we're waiting for the Log Pose to set."

Oh, there goes her bad feeling being justified.

* * *

><p>"Bepo and I will be exploring the island to attempt to find any clues of where this civilization was located. If I deem there are no serious dangers, then I'll return and send out small groups to help search. For now, all of you stay on the beach." Law smiled. "If you do wander off and get yourself killed, please remember that I <em>did <em>warn you as you're bleeding/being maimed/etc. Is everything clear?"

"Yes, Captain!" the chorus of voices crowed.

Law nodded once before trekking into the forest, nodachi in his right hand and Bepo on his left side.

* * *

><p>A shadow hid itself in the thick canopies of the trees. It watched the people in tacky white jumpsuits waddle around the sandy beaches like little lost ducks. The figure's eyes focused on a hatless red-haired head. He looked closer and was greeted with the epitome of gentleness, an enchantment, a lovely beauty. A tongue flicked out to lick dry lips.<p>

Perfect.

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><p><strong>Next Chapter Preview:<strong>

_"Pandora, I don't think we should go anywhere near the scary jungle."_

**"A.. a giant hairy thing just kidnapped one of our crew members! Don't you **_care_**?"**_  
><em>**"No, can't say we do."**

_"You're quite the charmer, aren't you, Mister Trafalgar?"_

**"There's someone else I would like to have tea with, Miss. Frankly, that person isn't you."**

* * *

><p><strong>writrgrl:<strong> There will be tumultuous emotions that will be going around as she decides. xD I explained it, albeit it not that well. ;

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** The next chapter will be longer. Much longer. Just stopped it there because it seemed like a good part to stop it. On another note, I finished a **sketch of Pandora** after someone PMed me saying they would draw her. Will put up the link and all that when she is done. (: Great motivation. Here's the link for my sketch: #/d4u99n3

Thank you for reading and please review for feedback. It's always nice to hear what you guys think and it's a great motivator.


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: Thanks a bunch to **Mystique Panache**, **SamIAmNot**, **PhoenixRage92**, **kimichee** (previously known as HibariTsunayoshi-kun (:), **Shadowed Shikyo**, **anon**, **GirlKitsune** and **writrgrl** for the reviews. They were very nice-su!

This chapter won't be like many of you expected, but hopefully, you'll like it all the same. (:

* * *

><p><strong>Pick Your Poison<strong>  
><strong>Chapter Nine<strong>

**.**

**.**

**.**

* * *

><p>"Pandora, I don't think we should be going anywhere near the scary jungle," Liam said uneasily.<p>

"It's fine, it's fine," Pandora assured him as she creeped along the edge of the jungle. She had orders to not go into the jungle and was doing her best not to disobey Law's orders. That didn't mean she wasn't curious though. The compromise was her walking along the edge of the forest with a nervous youth in tow. "You can go back to the submarine though if you're that uncomfortable." She was now inspecting a large, smooth leaf from an equally large tree.

He would. He really would, but his pride as a man was telling him to stay to keep her safe.

He was a manly man, after all.

"Heyy! Pandora! Brat!"

The irked "brat" looked up to snerk at the person who called him a brat, but immediately cooled down. It was one of the higher officers, Penguin with another officer, Shachi.

"Penguin, Shachi," Pandora greeted easily. She glanced at Liam, who was shying away from them uncomfortably. That made sense since she had never seem them talking to each other before.

"Rene said for you two to come to the kitchen to get ready for lunch," Shachi told them, hands behind his back.

"Oh, all right," she patted the dust off her clothes as she stood back up. "Let's go, Li—"

Pandora stiffened when she felt... another presence amongst them. Shachi and Penguin noticed the extra person too, while Liam remained innocently oblivious.

But by the time the trio sensed it was when it was way too late.

"GWAAAAH!"

"L-Liam!" Pandora cried out. A shadow had snatched the boy beside her and was now travelling through the trees with her friend under arm. She swivelled around to see Penguin and Shachi staring. "A... a giant hairy thing took Liam!" she said, being stupidly obvious in her panic. What were they going to do!

"Wow," Shachi whistled low.

"That monkey person moved fast, didn't he?" Penguin commented.

Pandora stared at them. "Don't you _care_?"

"Ehh," they shrugged. "He had a good life as a simple cabin boy." Honestly, they kind of cared, but at the same time the Captain had ordered them to stay on the beach. Besides, the guy could be replaced easily.

She narrowly resisted the urge to bash their skulls in.

"I'm going after him," Pandora said, determined. Before Shachi or Penguin could reply, she took off, having taken the curved sword that she had used against Bepo out of "storage."

...

Penguin slapped his hand to his forehead. The Captain would be mad if he found out they had let the informant go without doing anything.

"Going after her?" the younger man asked.

Shachi took his hands out of his pockets. "Yeep."

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, Bepo and Law were trodding through the jungle, not even pausing to swipe away the branches that obscured their path. Instead, Law had taken to using his nodachi to cut everything in their way down.<p>

Hey, he was a pirate not an environmental activist.

Coming across a clearing wasn't what made Law and Bepo stop. It was what was _in _the clearing that made them halt. Law frowned when he saw that there was a _house _in the middle of the clearing. Oh, but that didn't seem to be the thing that took the cake on "What the Hell is Happening?" It was how the door open (here, Law and Bepo were on guard for about a second. No, more like a nanosecond.) to reveal a woman –no, more like a girl— stepping out of the door wearing hiking boots that greatly juxtaposed her sunny yellow dress and pink umbrella.

Hm.

When the girl turned after locking the door (why she locked her door, neither pirate had any clue. It wasn't like there was really anyone around that would steal anything.), she gasped as she saw them standing there.

"Oh!" She smiled pleasantly. "Hello."

"Hi," Bepo said when it looked like the Captain wasn't going to answer.

"Are you pirates?"

"Yeah," the bear replied. The Captain didn't seem to be interested in talking, only in observing. Bepo was guessing that it was because he hadn't expected to see a little girl coming out a house in the middle of a jungle. Neither had he, to be perfectly honest. Just wasn't one of the things that you would think to see in a place like this.

"I was about to look for someone, but I think I'll hold that off for a while since it's been a long time that I've had guests." She beamed. "Would you like to come in for tea?"

The bear looked to his Captain for an answer.

...

"That would be wonderful, Miss. But before we go in though, could you tell me if you know anything about the ruins here?"

The girl nodded eagerly. "Why, yes I do! We can talk about it over the tea if you would like."

As they went in the house, Bepo secretly wondered if they had taken the path that had the most weirdest and craziest people on each island.

"I baked cookies too!" she exclaimed cheerily.

Yeah. Probably.

* * *

><p>She was going to <em>kill <em>the shadow once she got a hold of it and rescued Liam.

Pandora growled under her breath as she sliced away some hanging vines before she proceeded to trip on a large gnarly root. She stood up, flicking mud off her ruined top. Not only was she all dirty from running around the place, but she also had scrapes and bruises from tripping over a stray root or sliding around in the mud. But that wasn't what was making her see red the longer she chased after the fool.

It was how the bastard was purposely slowing down every time she almost caught up to him.

"Pa...Pan...dora..." Shachi panted out when he and Penguin finally caught up to the girl. She was fast and had surprisingly amazing stamina. "C...Can we...j...just give... up?"

"No," she said decisively Penguin squawked like his namesake as he fell, but neither Shachi nor Pandora batted an eyelash. They had grown use to one another tripping in this stupid jungle. "We're going to get Liam and then we're going to go back to the submarine to have lunch."

"..."

"LET GO OF LIAM, YOU DAMN BASTARD!" Pandora hollered after the shadow. She was about to start off again, but what stopped by a hand on her arm. "Shachi, why—"

"You really want to save him?" he interrupted.

Pandora was antsy but answered anyway. "Of course I do."

"Then let me lead."

"What?"

"Let _me _lead." He explained further. "I'm the one who hasn't been tripping as much."

Now that she was looking at him carefully, Shachi did seem to have less mud on his clothes.

"I'll head up the rear." Penguin stood up shakily. His face was caked with mud and his _hat _was dirty. "If we go in a straight line, we'll be able to chase the guy more efficiently."

Pandora frowned. Up until now, they had just come with her because they didn't want to lose her. "I thought you didn't care..."

"_You _care." Shachi sighed at her blank expression. Did she really not understand? "We're your fellow crew members. We'll support you when we can."

Penguin laughed sheepishly. "Plus, me and Shachi were only kidding about leaving him behind." Her face was still blank. He pouted. "It's the truth! Even though we don't know that guy's name, we have a personal philosophy not to leave any man behind if we can help it."

"As long as they're not jackasses," Shachi added.

"Yes," Penguin agreed. "That's really important."

Pandora was still staring at them blankly. Penguin and Shachi looked to each other before nodding.

"Let's go. Follow where I'm stepping," Shachi instructed, holding onto Pandora's wrist and pulling her forward.

"Righty-o," Penguin said as he pushed Pandora from behind.

...

_Stop, _she wanted to say. When she heard them, she could feel honest truth radiating from their words and it gave them another dimension, another side to pirates and to what she had read about the Heart Pirates. The pair couldn't see the expression on her face, but it spoke volumes.

She cleared her throat and said a simple, "Thank you."

Identical grins were on the two men.

"No problem, Pandora."

XXX

The young woman burst out of the trees. When she saw light in front of them (_A clearing_), she'd pushed forward, ending up in front of Shachi. Pandora ignored the shouts from behind her as her two crew mates skidded to a stop to avoid slamming into her. The result was Penguin running into Shachi and a lot of angry pushing was done behind the oblivious Pandora.

Her eyes squinted from the harsh light. They had made it to a clearing of some sort. Just a few metres ahead of them was a wall of rock. Right in front of said rock was a man holding Pandora's friend. Now that the darkness of the forest was absent and the leaves hiding his appearance was gone, she could finally see him.

The man was bulky and muscular. He had messy hair and an equally scraggly beard that looked to be caked in mud and filth. It looked as if he hadn't washed it in a while. That notion was only confirmed when one saw the rest of his dirty body, which was pretty visible seeing as how he was only wearing a loin cloth. He was holding Liam like a beaten up ragdoll, a beefy hand gripping the unconscious teenager's collar while he looked at the three of them like a dog backed into a (literal) corner.

She smirked. Dead end.

Pandora turned to address Penguin and Shachi. "Surround him!"

The pair looked at one another before looking at the very red-faced woman. They didn't take orders from anyone but the Captain.

"**Now**."

They scrambled. If any Heart Pirates had been there, Penguin and Shachi would have been humiliated. Pandora was after all a new member that was technically under them and she was a _girl_, no offence. The lack of nakama in the area (besides an unconscious one) may have hastened their decision to scramble.

Plus Pandora was really scary right now.

"On the count of three, we all jump," she said softly enough for only the other two pirates to hear. They both nodded as they circled around the man and their sleeping crewmate.

All four of them tensed.

"One..."

The man snarled, but the trio held their ground.

"Two..."

Liam snorted in his sleep blissfully.

"THREE!"

They pounced.

* * *

><p>"You're <em>27<em>?" Bepo repeated, incredulous.

Law approached the subject with a bit more tact. "You look young for your age, Miss." He watched her drink from her teacup before putting his own to his lips.

The woman(?) put a hand to her simpering rosy cheeks and looked away from Law demurely. "You're quite the charmer aren't you, Mister Trafalgar?"

"I wouldn't say a charmer, no," he said coolly. "Now, what I really wanted to speak of was of the ancient civilization from ages ago."

She nudged the cookie plate to Bepo. "What would you like to know about it?" she asked as she watched the adorable polar bear gnaw on a frosted cookie with barely concealed glee.

"Where it is would be nice," he said politely.

"Ah..." She looked away quickly when they locked eyes with one another. "I'll tell you as much as I can, though I should tell you that we've never gone inside of them because of all the traps."

"We?" Did she have a son? That was too strange of an idea to dwell too long on.

She smiled pleasantly.

"My dear little brother."

* * *

><p>Merciless. She was absolutely merciless.<p>

It wasn't particularly difficult with disabling the man and retrieving their captured crewmate. Though the man had been agile in the trees, he was horrible at combat.

Penguin, Shachi and the recently awoken Liam were deathly pale as they watched the scene unfold before them. Them, as men, felt something akin to pity welling in them as they watched the heel of Pandora's boot dig into the man's... err... family jewels without any hesitation at all. The man was a sobbing mess as she reprimanded him fiercely. It was more from the pain than her actually scolding him that was making him cry, they imagined.

"Uhh, Pandora? It's really okay," Liam told her. "I'm not hurt at all. Just please..." God, he felt so sorry for the guy. He hadn't even been hurt. Just a little... traumatized (Not that that was any better, but anyway...) "...let him go."

Pandora paused in her actions, took a deep breath and then backed away.

"Have you been doing this to every traveller that's come here?" she questioned tersely.

The man shook his head.

She crossed her arms and looked at him blandly. "If you had said yes, then I would have done more unpleasant things that my mom taught me."

Who the _fuck's _your mom? went through everyone's heads.

"Sor...sorry... I'm real -hic- sorry, lady," he managed.

Pandora raised an eyebrow at his speech. "Why are you speaking like a little kid?"

"Hey!" he exclaimed defensively. "I'm not a little kid! I'm already eleven!"

If crickets existed in jungle forests, there would be some chirping. Right now. As it was, the caw of a tropical bird was an appropriate substitute for their surroundings. The members of the Heart Pirates all blinked. At the same time. Then they did it again.

"What."

* * *

><p>"I will regret it forever if I do not say this, Mister Trafalgar," she whispered to Law after she was done with her small but helpful descriptions. She took a huge breath. "You are very handsome, but you just aren't my type."<p>

Law stared. "...I see."

She shook her head furiously. "W-well, you do have some aspects of your looks that are very nice. Your body is muscular, but not overly so. You have quite a nice face and your manners are impeccable, but..." She seemed to be deeply regretful for some odd reason.

Bepo bit into another cookie as he watched the overly dramatic scene before him.

* * *

><p>After Pandora found out that the boy(?) thought they were playing some convoluted game of tag, she forgave him. He was just a little boy, after all. And though it was hard in her head to call him a little boy, she knew he wasn't lying. The declaration was so disturbing that it was...well, believable.<p>

"...Could you tell us why you wanted to kidnap Liam?" Pandora patted his head. He sobbed extra loud and snuggled into her chest a little more. Penguin, Shachi and Liam were suspecting the boy(?) was doing it on purpose. They wouldn't be surprised.

He peered soulfully with wet eyes at Pandora. The overall effect would have been a lot cuter if the boy(?) didn't look like a dirty, middle-aged bum.

"It's because-"

* * *

><p>"...you are much too manly for my tastes."<p>

Law wasn't sure whether it was appropriate to say "thank you" or not, so he opted for saying nothing.

"I'm the type who goes for the pretty boy types," she told them even though they hadn't asked for an explanation. "They're so beautiful... They make me want to lock them somewhere where no one else will see them except me, you know?"

No. No, he didn't know. But, this did seem like an appropriate albeit awkward cue to leave.

"I think that we have overstayed our welcome, Miss." He and Bepo stood up. "We should be going back now before my crew gets too worried." A lie. Law lied. There was a snowball's chance in hell that the Heart Pirates would worry about the two strongest fighters, but the child-like woman didn't need to know that.

"Your cookies were very nice," Bepo said as he patted his tummy.

"I'll accompany the two of you out!" she stood up with a little hop. "I need to go look for my little brother anyway." She grabbed the pink umbrella she had before when they first met her. It was, now that they were closer and could see better, the tip of the umbrella was razor sharp. Almost as if it substituted as a weapon when it wasn't shielding her from the rain.

Law and Bepo stared at it, but didn't say a word, each for different reasons.

Bepo crammed another cookie in his mouth.

"But that doesn't mean that my tastes can't change," she said, looking a little too coy for her appearance. "If you ever do want to come back for tea just to talk..."

Law smiled thinly. "I'll keep that in mind. Though, frankly, I've encountered someone who I think I would rather have tea with."

Bepo spat out his half-chewed cookie.

The cute and small woman pouted. "Lucky someone..."

"It depends."

* * *

><p>"—He's beautiful!"<p>

All of them didn't know how to react to that. Except Liam. He reacted. Violently, at that.

"WHAT?" Liam all but shrieked and would have tackled the hairy "boy" if Penguin and Shachi weren't holding him back. It was really insulting to one's manhood when someone said you were beautiful. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN I'M _BEAUTIFUL_? I'm a GUY!"

"...You are kind of... effeminate..." Penguin said, breaking the silence.

"...I heard some girls like that kind of thing," Shachi told him offhandedly to make him feel better. It did _not _make him feel better at all.

Pandora was staring at her kitchen buddy in a new light. She looked as if she had had an epiphany.

"Yep," the boy(?) nodded. "My big sis is into that kind of thing. She said to take any pretty boys back to our home if it happened to be that they came to the island."

"Now," Pandora had found her voice. "You can't just go kidnapping people just because they have long eyelashes." Liam's eye twitched. "It's wrong to do so, no matter what your (crazy) sister says. Really, you shouldn't do that at all."

A dark cloud appeared above his head. "But my sis told me that it was okay..."

"It _isn't _okay," she said with a straight face.

"...Yes."

Liam, Penguin and Shachi watched the amazing scene of Pandora scolding a grown (looking) man blankly.

"Now, we're going to go back to the beach now." She stood up. "But first you have to apologize to Liam." Liam was pulled out of his job as a spectator with his name being called. He watched the lumbering form of the boy(?) appear before him, casting a shadow. His eye twitched spasmodically.

"I'm sorry."

"Uhh..." He backed away a couple of steps. "It's cool, dude."

"Good." Pandora managed a smile albeit a weak one.

Problem solved.

* * *

><p>"Oh! I found you!" the girl called out cheerily to the shadow in the trees. Said shadow seemed to turn its head before perking up. The little girl stepped back with a bounce as the shadow jumped down from the grand height with a muffled thump on the saturated jungle floor. Weak sunlight streaming through the thick canopies revealed that the shadow was actually a bushy man, grinning ear to ear like a little kid. The girl tilted her head. "Did something fun happen while you were playing?"<p>

"Yeah!" he exclaimed. "I met some real nice people, sis! They played tag with me! A bunch of other stuff happened too!"

"I had quite an interesting day as well." She smiled. "Let's go back to the house. We can talk about it over lunch."

And so the two siblings, each looking grossly unlike their age walked through the forest back to their beloved home.

* * *

><p>When all six of them from the two groups -one authorized and one unauthorized- came back, the crew noted that everyone seemed a little worse for wear, but when any of the crew tried to ask them what had happened, there would be a lot of subject changing and question dodging, or in Law's case a terrifying smile that made his crew shut their gobs.<p>

Even the captain had looked a little more tired than usual when he came back. Normally, they wouldn't have noticed if he was disgruntled, but it was obvious when he didn't scold the four that had gone into the jungle very much, despite them disobeying his orders.

As for the kitchen helpers, Liam and Pandora, they had both gone into the kitchen without a word. While the young woman had looked a little weary, the teenage boy had looked weary _and _disturbed. The racket of Rene screeching to them about how he had to do everything himself was _not _lost on anyone's ears, as well as the subsequent sounds of a scuffle, followed by a feminine voice repeating the words, "Stop hitting each other!"

Penguin and Shachi were seen walking around asking the crew members how old they were with very, very serious expressions. And as for Bepo...

As for the furry bear, he was relatively normal (normal, as in acting like he always did, of course). The only strange thing was that he declined eating lunch.

Something about too many delicious cookies?

* * *

><p>When all was said and done and the crew had been briefed Law had ushered them to the submarine with a swift command. They had all filed into the metal contraption like children going back in for recess. Once they were on, Law had told them that he had discovered that the ruins of this ancient society was on the other side of the island and that they were going there now.<p>

Pandora contemplated all of this as she was sitting alone on the edge of the deck, legs rammed in the openings between the railing while her head rested against it. She gazed at the dark waters under her bare feet as the submarine, now acting as a ship, traversed through the night. The island was big. And when she said big, she actually meant humongo-ginormous. If she had to compare it, it was as big as Sabaody, if not bigger. It would take at least a few more hours before they were there and even then they would likely wait until morning to head out.

But that was neither here nor there.

Pandora shook her head. She wasn't supposed to be thinking about what they were doing now. That wasn't why she had come up here alone. Rather...

_Stupid men were wrecking my concentration, _she thought darkly. They were so bloody loud that she could hear the sounds of the partying all the way from her room. Whenever Law didn't mind, they would party. It was ridiculous how much they partied sometimes. Annoying too. She had been trying to recite her grandfather's information in her head but soon gave up when she realized that she wouldn't be able to focus until it was quiet.

Her granddad...

She had never met him, but heard smidgeons here and there from her parents. He had been a pirate, but at the same time, was a chronicler, taking his adventures in written form for future generations to read and learn from. It was a bit funny that his information would land her into being coerced to being a pirate.

She sighed under her breath at the same time a voice called her name.

_CLANG!_

...Dammit, ow.

Pandora heard someone let out a laugh. She knew that voice... Her reddened cheeks puffed up as she glared at the sea while a long string of curses were being muttered under her breath. Already she knew who was laughing at her embarrassing situation. The tenor tone of the laugh coupled with the smoothness of the chuckles made it obvious.

"Is your head stuck between the railing?" Law enquired.

"You know it is," she said gravely before adding, "And it's your fault too."

"Do you need help?" He was crouched down beside her, close enough that she could feel warmth on her arm.

"No," she bristled before yanking on her head. It was stuck in there good. She settled down huffily after a while. Whatever. "What did you want to talk about?"

Law sat down cross legged beside her as she stared grumpily at the open sea. "I needed some fresh air," which Pandora interpreted as "I need a break from my excessively loud crew." Still, that was just her.

Pandora wanted to turn and look at him, but couldn't. "I was doing something before you came," she said bitingly. It could be due to how she was in such a situation that she was grumpy. She was trying to improve towards him. He wasn't trying to be mean on purpose, which meant that she would have to hold up her side of the deal if their relationship was going to get anywhere. It was just that the way he carried himself, those dark dark eyes, that devilish smirk—

Her current temperament could also be due to how he had surprised her.

...

"Oh? What were you doing?"

"...Reciting my grandfather's information in my head." He gave her an inquisitive glance. "I... don't have a photographic memory. It took me months to memorize all of his stuff. I have to refresh myself every now and again."

"Really..." he said for courtesy's sake, but she had a feeling that he had something more pressing to ask. That much was made obvious when he asked, "Why do you want to go to the New World?"

...

"...Shouldn't you have asked for my motives _before _you recruited me?" she shot back before continuing on her mission to get her head out from between the railings. If only she had soap. Or butter. Butter would be nice.

Instead of answering her, he told her, "I cannot talk to you seriously with you like that, Miss Pandora."

"I want to get out of this as much as you want me to..." She didn't say anything more, so he decided to take the matter into his own hands.

Pandora felt hands and callused fingers cupping either side of her head and part of her cheeks. She felt her cheeks heat up from the sudden contact. His hands were still warm from being inside...

And then there was a harsh, painful yank. Sure in his actions, he had pulled hard without giving her any warning.

She _would _remember this, mark her words.

Law watched as she lay on the deck, shell-shocked, for a second before focusing her green eyes on him. They narrowed.

"You did that on purpose." She rolled over before standing up. She fixed up her shirt and pulled her skirt down to a more modest length before pinning a vicious look on him.

"If I had given a warning, you would have done something unnecessary."

Pandora recalled this method when she had taken needles. Her family doctor had always pricked her arm on two to prevent any needless thrashing, which had aggravated her younger self to no end because the meanie doctor had _lied _to her. She ran her hand through her hair, aggravated. She had really hated that doctor.

"...Then, thank you," she managed, though still filing this incident in her memory banks for future reference.

Her gratefulness slid off Law. He turned his half-lidded gaze to her. "You didn't answer my question."

"I don't _want _to," she said curtly, still a little sore, both physically and metaphorically, from his actions from a minute ago. She _knew _she was being petty, but she couldn't help it. It had smarted.

"I'm assuming you don't want to tell me because..." His eyes took a gleam to them. "...you don't believe I would feel very happy about the answer."

"...You're a really infuriating man." She picked her bag up.

He retorted calmly, "Your motives for going to the New World could be detrimental to the well-being of my crew."

Pandora tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. Half her face was shadowed by the moon.

"I need to deliver a letter to someone." She thought of strong hands lifting her up into the air as a young girl. "My dad."

She scoffed at the look he gave her.

"My mom died a few years ago and wanted me to give a letter to my dad if I could find him. I haven't looked inside the envelope, but it seemed important to my mom, so I thought I would do my best to find him..."

"...We'll be arriving at the location in a few hours. It would be best if you went to sleep now, after I'm done ordering the rest of the crew to bed."

Pandora cocked her head. "Yes, Captain," was all she said as he disappeared back into the submarine.

In her travels, she had learned she was terrible at tracking. It was only now, after a few years, that she found out that her father could possibly be in the New World. Who knew how many more years it would take for her to find her dad if she didn't accept that offer from the man back in Sienna de Leone...

Others would think she was crazy for going to the New World to deliver a simple piece of paper, but that didn't matter to her. She felt like it would be spitting on her memory of her mom if she didn't deliver the letter. And plus, seeing her dad again would be great.

Her parents were the world to her, but she was starting to get attached to the crew.

* * *

><p><strong>Next Chapter Preview:<strong>

_"Miss Pandora will be coming inside with us."_

**"It was horrible in the ruins..."**

_"Four hours left until we're supposed to search for them. We'll figure something out."_

**'He... he wasn't breathing!'**

* * *

><p><strong>anon:<strong> I answered your question in the questions section. I hope it helped. It would be awesome to see it if/when you're done. (: No worries about not reviewing before. Chasity and beliefs? Oh, there will be more mentions of that later. I have some tricks up my sleeve, ufufu...  
><strong>writrgrl:<strong> Yes, the boy(?) was creepy! I don't think you expected any of that though. But he acts pretty normal for his real age. Law/Pandora moments are a pleasure to write for me. (:

* * *

><p>AN: Thanks for reading. **Please give feedback**. It's a good way of knowing if I'm going about this whole thing all right. (:


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N:** Thank you to **Shadowed-Shikyo**, **xxOMGgalxx**, **Sharingan Hime**, **SamIAmNot**, **AnonymousH**, **motherloosegoose**, **the everchanging**, **PhoenixRage92**, **kimichee**, **anon**, **writrgrl**,**Trishie** and **GirlKitsune** for the reviews. I am so happy! yet tired. Sorry for the lateness. I got a little distracted.

* * *

><p><strong>Pick Your Poison<strong>  
><strong>Chapter 10<strong>

**.**

**.**

**.**

"...and Miss Pandora with myself and Bepo into the ruins."

The crew, including Pandora, took a double take at the Heart Pirates Captain.

"Um, Captain..." a member in the crowd said. "Are you sure that's a good idea?" Sure, Bepo would be going with them too, but wouldn't it be wiser for the captain to have someone with more strength in the group just in case something happened in the ruins? They were the only people going in too. The captain had said that the ruins, which actually consisted of a pyramid-like structure was actually a maze on the inside. He had told them, bluntly, that he didn't want anyone's idiocy getting them lost. The entire crew was disheartened by his declaration, but agreed in the end.

None of them were any good at mazes anyway.

Pandora was indignant. "What do you mean by that?"

The men shuffled. "Well, you _did _faint..."

"...into the Captain's arms!" another one added in.

That last part really hadn't been necessary.

She frowned "That isn't because Bepo hurt me badly or anything. It's because—"

"—of idiocy," Law interrupted. "Everyone return to the ship. If we happen to not return in six hours, I'll have to ask that Penguin and Shachi head a team to search for us." The two men nodded seriously at their captain's orders before following the rest of the pirates back to the submarine.

Law turned to the small remainder of his crew. "Shall we go?"

"Come on, Pandora. Stop dragging your feet on purpose," Bepo said as he nudged her to follow the captain.

Pandora reluctantly went in. She had a bad feeling about this. Really bad.

* * *

><p>When they first went in, Pandora had been awed by the carvings on the walls. Not because of the intricate details or beautiful design, but at the fact that the badgers on the walls were pretty adorable. From what she could tell, the stories the hieroglyphs told was sad. The humans who likely made this pyramid had to abandon their pet badgers.<p>

"Ow." She had tripped _again_.

She had an immense amount of trouble manoeuvring. There was debris everywhere, so much that she tripped a few times before Law had told Bepo to help her. It took them five minutes of walking down the hallway before they reached their first obstacle.

Well, it would have been an obstacle if it wasn't plain obvious that grave robbers had left their mark here.

A entrance into what seemed to be the beginning of the maze was completely open. A stone barrier that would have been there had been destroyed judging from the broken rocks around the entrance. It wasn't that surprising. Even though there were thousands of islands in the Grand Line, it wouldn't be surprising for _at least _one group of grave robbers to have come across this place.

...It seemed like such a shame though.

"What's that?" Pandora he let go of Bepo's sleeve. Where she was pointing was an indent in the wall beside the entrance. It was too uniform to be damage from people that came before them. It looked like a rectangular object the size of her hand would of fit in there if it wasn't empty.

"We'll likely never find out."

"Hm," she deadpanned as she and Bepo followed after their captain. Now that she thought of it, did Law even have a plan for getting through the maze? She asked him the question running through her head.

"Spontaneity is a part of being a pirate."

Pandora stared at Law's back, then at Bepo.

The polar bear shrugged.

* * *

><p>"We're lost," Pandora announced.<p>

"Say that after you know for certain," Law said dryly.

...

_Oh, so he's one of those types,_ she thought. Frustration. That was what she felt from being here for so long. It was also showing her that Law was the type that didn't think they were lost when they really were lost and had been for a few hours. The type that refused to ask for directions. The type that were obstinate and couldn't admit they were wrong when they really were. The type that—

"Uh, Pandora? Don't step there," Bepo advised her gravely.

"Step whe—" She cut herself off when she felt her foot land on a protrusion on the ground, followed by feeling _nothing _beneath her feet.

She screamed.

* * *

><p>Right after they deemed it a good amount of time for the captain to go in without finding out that they would be waiting, most of the Heart Pirates came back to stand outside the pyramid. It wasn't worried or anything, of course not. It was just that they were being <em>prepared <em>for when the six hours were up. Yeah, that's it.

They heard a scream from the pyramid.

"Was that Pandora...?" Shachi asked.

Penguin responded by nodding dumbly.

Shachi grasped for a topic change. He didn't want to think about what was happening in there right now.

"Sooo... why do you think the Captain took Pandora with him?"

It hadn't made sense. As was proclaimed by many of the crew members, she was weak-ish. At least, that was their perception of her after fighting with Bepo, but that could possibly be _because _she was fighting with Bepo. The bottom line was that there wasn't any reason for the captain to take her inside. None that he could see anyway.

Penguin shrugged but then puffed up almost proudly. "Doesn't matter since the Captain is strong enough to hold his own anytime and anywhere. Plus he's got Bepo with him."

Still, their ears strained to hear any other noises after that.

* * *

><p>"Pandora, I told you not to step there," Bepo said.<p>

She couldn't speak. She was too busy trying to breathe after that ordeal. Right after she had fallen, Bepo, being the closest one to her, grabbed onto the back of her collar before she could meet a gruesome end with the spikes below.

"Come Bepo," Law said.

"Yes, Captain." Pandora was dead weight in Bepo's arms as the bear jumped across the trap door to land beside Law.

Law grabbed Pandora's chin after she was dropped onto her feet. He looked into her eyes.

"Wh...what is it?" she managed to gasp out.

"You don't seem to be in shock... We can continue."

He and Bepo started walking again, leaving her to gape at the pair.

"What do you mean we can continue!" she blustered out. "There are obviously traps for the wrong paths and without any way to know where we're going, we're just going to be going through more and more traps!" She was all for risks if they had a good reason for it, but all they were doing was trying to find more gold for Law's pockets.

She was dutifully ignored.

* * *

><p>Pandora had no idea how she ended up like this. Well, she would later. It's just that the shock of now was <em>literally over flooding<em> her senses right now.

And by "this," she meant being carried along rushing water while holding onto the hood of Trafalgar Law. Oh, and did she mention they were underwater too?

Well, now you know.

She had to admit that the time before _this _damn situation they were now in had been fairly inconsequential. The trio had come across a small circular room and Law, being in the front, had accidentally activated a trap. Like hers, the trigger had been stepping on the wrong place, but unlike hers, the entire floor of the room had been the trigger.

The result of his absolutely _stupid_ actions even though she had told him something like this _would_ happen was a metal boulder falling from the ceiling and almost crushing him if he hadn't stepped back when he did. While she and Bepo's mouth open enough for flies to go in and Law had stared, water had come rushing in from the ceiling.

Apparently, the boulder had acted as some type of stopper like a plug in a kitchen sink.

And now they (as in her and Law. She had no idea where poor Bepo was) were where they were now; desperately trying to stay alive while being carried by a torrent of water through the dizzying halls of the maze.

If she could speak without getting a mouthful of water, she would be saying, "I told you so" right about now to Law.

As it was, she was struggling to break through the surface with the devil fruit user in her hand.

Super.

It is said that humans get a burst of abnormal strength when put in life or death situations. Pandora was proof it was true when she managed to get to the top. The ceiling grazed her head. She breathed in for a second before more or less pulling Law up.

She grabbed onto one of the torch holders to stop their movement, her ring clinking against the rusted metal, as she hugged him to her. She turned her head slightly to look at him and she could feel an odd squeezing in her chest.

He wasn't breathing.

"Damn, damn, _damn," _she whispered. How long had he been like that? Two minutes? Three? She couldn't tell how long they had been underwater.

Her eyes darted around for _anything _that could solve the problem of Law not _breathing_, but all she could see were torches that would soon be submerged along with her, an endless hallway on one side and stairs on the other side-

Wait.

She took a double take and would of squealed with glee if her lungs didn't feel like they were on fire.

With a last intake of breath, Pandora was submerged by the rising water.

The lights of the torches went out.

* * *

><p>When a wet Bepo with their captain's nodachi came stumbling out of the pyramid with water dripping after him, the crew collectively thought, <em>That can't be good...<em>

"There was..." Bepo shook himself, water spraying his protesting crew mates. He puffed up to look like a fat, fuzzy marshmallow. "...a lot of water."

_Obviously... _everyone thought.

"What happened to the Captain and Pandora?" Shachi asked urgently.

"I..." The first mate looked as sad as anything as he recounted the story. "Right before the water from the trap drowned us, I saw Pandora running to the Captain. After that, we got separated, but I managed to grab hold of Captain's nodachi... I knew I was close to the entrance when I recognized some weird images of badgers and humans on the wall."

He peered at the group of men that were all looking at him. "If you guys weren't disobeying orders and hadn't come here..." They flinched. "I wouldn't have been able to smell you guys and swim all the way here until the water died down..."

"We were worried about you guys!" a voice declared.

"You still disobeyed orders," Bepo said in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Shuddup Bepo!" everyone roared.

"...Sorry."

"Should we go in?" Penguin looked to Shachi who was staring at the pyramid contemplatively.

"...We wouldn't be of any use if what Bepo said about the whole place being flooded is true. Still..."

Penguin nodded and sighed as he gazed worriedly. "Four hours left until we're supposed to search for them."

There was a mutual silence between them.

3...2...1...

"Okay, screw six hours, one hour, any hour!" Penguin exclaimed. He started making his way back to the crew. "I'm going to make a team and take them into the pyramid. Get one of 'em to go back and get some life jackets and make sure all of them can swim too—"

"Dude, the Captain said four." That made Penguin hesitate, but it wouldn't have been enough to stop him if Shachi hadn't hastily continued. "And Pandora can swim. She told me once."

"Did she also say she can carry a grown-sized man too?" Penguin's eye was twitching at this point from worry.

Shachi shook his head. "No, but if we just go in there without any sense of a plan, then we could get lost." He doubted the crew would be able to navigate through the maze without any sort of map. Not to say they were stupid, but it would just be stupid to be trying.

He didn't think even the Captain could do it, which is why Shachi suspected Bepo was brought. The idiot had a keen sense of smell, ensuring that the trio could retrace their steps if things took a turn for the worst. But now Bepo was outside and any scents had been washed away. In other words, it was impossible for them to use Bepo and his nose.

_Ah, shit. _Without meaning to, Shachi's own eye twitched at the stark realization. It was only his confidence in his captain that was preventing him from running into the ruins right now.

His friend seemed to see reason. Penguin deflated.

"Fine," he said. "But after four hours, we're going in there, no matter what."

Shachi conceded, "All right."

* * *

><p>Law better not die.<p>

That was the only thought racing through Pandora's head as her shaking hands, worn off of adrenaline, pressed against the area between his ribs. She blinked away the water in her eyes as she performed the compressions needed. How many times? Should she have figured a way to move him more carefully? Was that her blood or his on her hands?

_...Don't die._

Tilting his head up, she put her lips to his.

* * *

><p>When Trafalgar Law woke up, the first thing he registered was pressure at his chest area, rhythmic compressions against his body. He could hear someone sighing in an emotion he thought to be relief as he coughed out water. When he finally opened his eyes, he could see his newest crew mate glaring at her fiercely as water from her hair dripped onto his cheeks.<p>

The glaring wasn't atypical.

"I told you!" she began heatedly, apparently incensed by him waking up. He sat up. "I told you that we should have stopped moving when I almost died from that trap! But did you listen to me? Nooooo...! Because apparently Big Bad Trafalgar Law can handle any deadly traps that he has no clue about without breaking a sweat and is so selfish that he can't even stop to consider— _are you even listening to me?_"

"Be _quiet_."

He wasn't listening to her. Pandora could tell when he began looking around to examine their surroundings. His scrutiny made the anger flow out of her. It didn't feel right on her part that Law was already trying to figure out some way to escape after nearly dying, while all she was doing was shouting at him. He completely deserved it, but this wasn't the time nor place.

_Stupid Captain... _He was making her feel, well, immature.

She carefully removed his hand from her mouth and that seemed to grab his attention again, because he turned back to her.

"How long was I unconscious?"

"...I don't know. Not long though. Maybe for 10 minutes?" she told him resignedly. She wouldn't tell him that it had felt like hours to her when she was trying to get him to breathe again. No need for his ego to become even more inflated. Not that almost dying by drowning (after not listening to her...) could be called great for the arrogant man's self-esteem, but he was taking it remarkably well.

Or was he?

Pandora watched him carefully. His mask of detached nonchalance was still there and he would of seemed normal to her if not for how he was _pacing_. He wasn't the type to pace while he was thinking, which made her think that he was just doing it in response to nearly being killed by the water. She tasted the cold liquid against her lips and found it to be salty too; a double whammy for a Devil Fruit user, seeing as how they couldn't swim and saltwater drained their energy.

She didn't want to ever see him like that again.

...

_Or anyone else for that matter, _she hastily thought. _Devil Fruit users are really useless in the water..._

"I'm... going to go change," she stood up and reached for her bag. The bulkiness of the bag wasn't just for show. It held a lot of things, including waterproofed clothes and a towel. She also had a basic sewing kit and first-aid kit, a traveller's brochure from Sienna de Leone, a little souvenir toy she had gotten from an island that always rained called a teru teru bozu, sunglasses—

"Excellent timing, Miss Pandora." He held out his hand.

...Did he want a high-five?

"The clothes fitted for men, if you will."

"..." She stared hard at him. "How did you know about that?" She had everything but the kitchen sink in her bag but how did _he _know that?

He gave a sly smile. "You didn't think I would simply let someone on my ship without examining their belongings, did you?"

"Well..." Pandora looked away, having enough decency to be embarrassed. Her bag had been taken away for a few hours when she first accidentally stowed away. Naively, she thought that _they _would have enough decency not to look through her stuff but it was to be expected, actually. She would have done that same.

"Well?"

Law was dripping wet, soaked to the bone like she was. She herself was shivering and these cavern-like hallways _were _awful cold.

"...Take it." She forcibly shoved the clear bag of clothes into his arms before stalking past him with her own stuff in hand.

* * *

><p>Law, leaning against the wall, watched his subordinate changing from the corner of his eye. He stared absentmindedly at the expanse of her bare back, marred by dark bruises from her spar with Bepo. His gaze started from her torso, her chest covered by a dry shirt and then trailed down to her legs.<p>

His diagnosis stopped. He frowned when he saw her profile looking down at her hand.

"I'm done," Pandora stood in front of him. He was running a hand through his hair and seemed restless. She shrugged inwardly. It was probably because they were lost in a maze.

Somehow, she felt she should be panicking more... huh.

"We're going ahead," he explained. "We can't go back the way we came and besides..."

Pandora scowled at what he was hinting at and wondered if punching one's captain would count as mutiny.

"...there's still treasure to be found."

Law easily blocked her punch and held her small fist in his larger hand tightly. She didn't make any other move to attack him.

"Why are you angry?" he asked coolly. Her whole countenance had darkened. Teeth bared in a snarl, tangled hair clinging to her furiously red cheeks and a glare that would have made a lesser man tremble.

In spite of himself, he could feel a tug at the corner of his mouth.

"Are you _fucking _insane?" she shouted. "Even now, you still want the treasure. How greedy can you get?"

"What am I, Miss Pandora?"

_A man..._

Okay, whoa. Where did _that _come from?

"A pirate," she answered hastily.

"And what are pirates like?" He took a step before her. She took a step back because he was kind of glowering at her and yes, she would admit that he was fairly intimidating when he glowered.

"They're greedy bastards," she muttered, almost defiantly.

He ignored the second part and continued, "And as greedy pirates, would you say that it wouldn't be out of the norm to want treasure?"

"That's way too simple. _Stupidly _simplistic, in fact."

"Life is full of risks, Miss Pandora. Someone like you who has been travelling around the Grand Line for some time must have learned this or already knew this when you set out." He stopped with the glaring, but his eyes did spark with something else. Just for a brief moment. "You can't honestly tell me you don't enjoy the thrill of the unknown, of not knowing what is going to happen next."

Adventure and curiosity; a motive for every pirate. Whether it was a primary motive or not, every pirate had a taste for them.

It had been a motive for her when she left her hometown.

His words were... beautiful. She had to confess to that. She had heard the same thing back when she was younger by someone else dear to her, so maybe that was why she decided to tell him what she had seen.

"...I saw something interesting on the wall," Pandora began slowly. She hadn't wanted to tell him, but now was a good a time as any. "I think it may help us."

* * *

><p>What she had seen when she had been changing out of her water-soaked clothes was a map of the maze. It had been right beside her head when she was changing.<p>

"I think that there are a bunch of these stone maps scattered around the place." She pressed her hands to the wall where the map was. It could be pulled out, but she hadn't been able to do it. The fit was too tight for her fingers. The size of the map matched the indent of the wall when they had first begun their trip into the maze. She hesitated. "Except..." There were two problems. One was how to get the tablet out of the wall and another was...

Law approached the tablet.

"Huh? What are you going to do?"

Within the span of a second, he did something or other that ended up with the map dropping into his outstretched hand.

How had _he _managed to do that when she couldn't? she thought jealously.

But anyway...

...Problem one: solved.

As for problem number two...

He silently studied the etchings. Pandora reluctantly peered over his shoulder. There was a dot that indicated where they are. From there, it would normally be easy enough to figure out where to go after that, but... There was also a giant square-shaped hole in the maze. It had taken her a long time to change because she had been trying to figure out the map. If Law was as smart as the people in his occupation tended to be, he would reach the same conclusion she had.

"There's no solution to this maze," he said.

Bingo.

"That's why I thought we might as well go." Pandora scratched the back of her head and sighed. "But I imagine you must be disagreeing. Would I be right in my assumption, Captain?"

"You've gotten to know me so well, Miss Pandora," he replied. "Still, I would like to check out this area," he pointed, "because it's the only path that doesn't stop before the gap."

Pandora saluted tiredly. "Aye aye, Captain."

* * *

><p>"I wonder if they're going to kill each other..." Penguin thought out loud again, his hands in his pockets. "They kind of hate each other." He knew as well as anyone else that Pandora didn't like the captain. As for the captain, he wasn't quite sure, but had a small inkling the Captain was annoyed with her 90% of the time. He knew the captain was mature enough to handle any temper tantrums that the redhead only seemed to have around the Surgeon of Death, but the question was, would Pandora still try to kill the Captain?<p>

It was a troublesome possibility.

"Possibly," Shachi shrugged. He anxiously looked around, just to occupy himself with something. They had been standing around for a few hours and he could see that some of the crew were getting restless. There were a few that were sleeping though. Idiots.

"No, they don't." Bepo approached them. "Hate each other, I mean. Pandora doesn't hate him. What made you think that?"

"There was that time—" Penguin began but was cut off.

"The Captain doesn't either."

"Why would you say that?" Shachi glanced at Bepo. Out of all of the crew, he had looked the least worried at first glance. But at second glance, you would see the bear clutching his captain's nodachi as tightly as a lifeline.

"Because he wanted to have tea with her and Pandora... she can be an understanding person most of the time," Bepo said before walking off.

"What is that supposed to mean..." Penguin was con fuddled.

"Your guess is as good as mine."

* * *

><p><strong>I didn't understand your maze explanation.<strong>  
>I apologize if my explanation was crappy. I edited it and that was the best I could do without going into too much detail that I thought was incredibly important. The maze idea is not mine. It's from an anime called Phi-Brain. If you're interested in what the maze looks like, then feel free to watch just the first episode of the anime. (: It's a good anime.<strong><br>The badgers?**  
>They're canon! It was a while ago, but brownie points for anyone who remembers. (:<p>

* * *

><p><strong>anon: <strong>It's great, really! I was giddy when I saw it. I think I already said it in the comments, but it looks pretty OP-y. I actually made my dA account because of ffn too LOL. Thank you again and again. (:  
><strong>writrgrl: <strong>Ouch... how did you get your brother out, just out of curiosity's sake? Haha, I got your reference! (; Recently, I've been obsessed with jokes/puns, so it was nice to see!

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **The story got fanart, courtesy of anon. Link's on my profile.

Thanks for reading and please give feedback. It helps my muse!


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N:** Thank you to **YukihanaRei**, **irv**, **GirlKitsune**, **Shadowed-Shikyo**, **xxOMGgalxx**, **MystiquePanache**, **Chuu 112**, **Decadent Decay**, **anon** and **kimichee** for reviewing. :D

* * *

><p><strong>Pick Your Poison<strong>  
><strong>Chapter 11<strong>

**.**

**.**

**.**

"Give me your hand."

"...Um... Why?" They had been walking in silence up until they had reached the dead end where Law had said they would be going. There, the pair had decided that they would take a small break while they thought of their next step.

"Because your hand is bleeding," he said. "We might as well take care of it now. Your first-aid kit, Miss Pandora."

She complied, handing him her basic kit from her bag. One would think that as a doctor, Law would be better prepared for these types of situations.

Pandora started when she heard him speak, inwardly wincing when she realized she had said that sentence out loud. Oops.

"It would be too cumbersome to carry medical supplies." He continued wiping away the blood with gauze, despite her hissing from his firm grasp. His movements were sure and methodical, the actions of a man who was experienced in this field of work. "Besides, my men tend to not get hurt so I've, up until now, deemed it useless to carry a kit around. _You _seem to be the only exception, so maybe I'll have to rethink my decision on that."

Pandora scowled.

"You're the one that caused me to get hurt!" she exclaimed. The rusted metal from the torch holder had been sharp at some spots, causing a number of cuts on her hand. "I wouldn't have gotten hurt if you hadn't been completely useless— ouch!"

"You're testing my patience, Pandora."

His thumb had pressed on a large cut for a second in warning before releasing. It had stung a little and made her shut up in her tirade, which seemed to be his goal because he went back to cleaning it as if nothing happened. His nonchalance made her glower, but he didn't shirk away like she had. She pulled her hand away when he reached over to get the bandages.

"You're testing the last of mine too," she retorted slowly while she cradled her hand to her chest.

He didn't reply. Tried to coax her back. "I need to finish bandaging the rest of your hand."

"...I can do it myself." She was cold, wet, tired, her back hurt and now her hand had been stinging for hours. A passing thought had her wondering if she could get an infection. Law didn't mention it, so she assumed 'no'.

"...Come help me when you're done then," he said before walking away to examine the walls.

When Pandora had finished clumsily bandaging her hand, she stood up. She purposely turned away from him while he turned his head slightly from his inspection of the wall.

_Fine, just fine... _She marched up to an opposite wall, stone map in hand, and mimicked his actions. Her fingers brushed and pushed lightly against the surface. There had to be some kind of switch that did something... anything. As Law had said, this was the only path that was suspicious. If there was any place to start, here was the place.

After minutes of futile searching, Pandora rested her forehead against the wall. There was no hidden button or switch against the walls. She was tempted to start spouting words and hoping a door magically opened. The torches that had activated when they had stepped into the pyramid were slowly going out, one by one.

After that, _well... _Finding the treasure would be the least of their problems while they were trying to find their way around in the dark.

Her eyes drifted down forlornly. The instant that her eyes closed was when she spotted something interesting at her foot.

A small circle. A symbol on the wall.

"Ah..." She bent down. It was the same symbol that had been right above the pyramid's entrance. Two spears with feathers crossed in an X shape. Pandora grew excited at the prospect of a lead. She examined the symbol for a moment more before looking at the surrounding area.

There was a specific pattern along the walls of the maze's paths.

She had been staring at the walls when she, Law and Bepo had been wandering. Five large stone blocks followed by a long piece of stone that stretched from the ceiling to the floor. Then the pattern would continue with the five stone blocks again. The symbol was at the bottom of one of these long stones. She looked down the hallways just to confirm the pattern again though.

Her brows furrowed. There was something different about this piece though. Instead of being fairly flat along with the rest of its counterparts, the stone jutted out a bit. Her gaze wandered up and she saw a small crack at the very bottom, almost as if the architects of the pyramid had accidentally cut this long piece too short.

Or maybe on purpose?

"Found something?"

She jumped.

"Y-yes! I mean no! I mean-maybe." Why was she even talking to him anyway?

He wasn't paying attention to her. Instead, he had taken to inspecting where she had been looking, where his gaze finally settled at the bottom as well, below the symbol.

"I'm thinking there's a lever or switch in there..." she continued reluctantly. Something to activate it was probably in there.

"Miss Pandora," he said quietly. He had knelt down, but she couldn't see what he was doing.

"I want you to put your fingers through the crack to lift the lever." He wiggled his long fingers. "Your fingers are smaller than mine, after all."

She looked at her digits before reluctantly replying. "They look the same," she insisted. Well, they didn't really, but she wouldn't admit that now that she had claimed otherwise.

Pandora squeaked when she felt him grab her wrist and tug her down.

"Your hand is smaller," he insisted mildly. He held it up to show her before dropping it.

She scowled at him. He was looking completely serious. "The sooner you put your hand in there, the sooner you can leave my presence as you seem to wish." He waved a hand. "Go on now."

...

It was hard for her to say it, but he was right. If they were on the right track, they should hypothetically be able to get out. She doubted the place where they came in was also the only way out. With any luck, they would be able to get out after they found this supposed treasure that was hidden in this stupid pyramid.

"Would you like me to tell you my reason for choosing you to accompany me on this little expedition?" he enquired when he saw that she was still hesitating.

"Err..."

"It's because I thought you were intelligent enough to assist me with any obstacles that may obstruct our path, as I had guessed they would need someone of more intelligence." He ignored her stare that was silently asking him if he thought his men were stupid.

"Outside-of-the-box creativity," he amended when he caught her staring. At that, Pandora understood. For example, though Shachi and Penguin acted like complete morons, they weren't morons _(well, she genuinely believed that notion that times)_. She had seen them direct supplies into the ship with an air of authority and maturity that she wouldn't be able to do with such a large crowd.

Pandora squinted, caught between suspicious and vaguely flattered. "Did you just—"

"Compliment you? Yes, I did."

She _knew _she was being manipulated by his disarming comment, but she couldn't help it. Half the reason was because she knew that Law wasn't the type to hand out compliments often and if he did, they were genuine. The other (more dominant) half was that she wanted to get out of here. Standing around here arguing with him wouldn't help.

"Can you feel it?" he drawled when she put her hand in.

She felt her hand brushed against something. "I think I got it..."

"Pull on it," he instructed lowly, curtly. She sighed at the wall. It seemed she wasn't the only one frustrated with their little adventure.

"With more strength if you would, Miss Pandora."

"I can't. It's too hard..."

The innuendos of the words was lost on the couple.

"Oh!" The creaking of machinery years ahead of its time greeted their ears. She stepped back and from the corner of her peripheral vision, saw the wall where the dead end was sliding, as in it was freaking _moving_.

As it was conveniently moving thanks to her, Law admitted, "And I saw no loss if I brought you or not if there was no need for out-of-the-box thinking."

She snapped her head in his direction so fast that she almost got whiplash.

Pandora managed out an indignant, "_What?_" Law was now looking at the stone tablet with a sort of suppressed awe in his dark eyes, but she wasn't letting this go.

"What do you mean by that?" she asked just to clarify.

"If there was anything dangerous here, I would be able to handle it on my own." He was still examining the stone tablet.

"...Right." Pandora rubbed her temple. Was it like a _requirement _for pirates to be arrogant? She blinked as she realized something.

"But you can't swim. Even if that flood's water had been fresh water, you would have _drowned,_" she shot back confidently. Try and see if he could deny her help there.

Law smirked.

"Touche."

...Pandora didn't feel exactly good about his response, but it wasn't like she felt bad either. Just... mild contentment knowing that was the closest thing to a thank you that she would get, especially seeing who it was and all.

He was _still_ staring at the piece of rock in the wall.

"What is it?" She couldn't stop the curiosity from leaking into her voice. He handed her the map and finally began to walk to the moving wall.

"The gap is being filled up."

Her eyes widened. It really was. The maze, which had originally had no solution, was now moving with the help of Pandora activating it. The square shaped gap at bottom middle of the maze was being filled in by the maze above it.

"Wow," she said breathlessly. Whoever made this maze was freaking smart.

"If you're finished gawking, Miss Pandora..." Law trailed off.

"Yeah, yeah..." she muttered as she followed after his lanky form. Still, she couldn't suppress the smile that surfaced on her lips.

Smooth sailing from here.

* * *

><p><em>Oh dear Roger, I think I jinxed us.<em>

Pandora was greeted with a look from Law and she realized that she had said her thought out loud.

"N-nothing." She waved a hand, motioning like she was swatting a fly. "Anyway, what should we do about the door that we can't open?"

Indeed, before them there was a gigantic stone door that reached up to the tall ceiling that was physically impossible for them to open.

"Maybe you could use your ability?" she suggested. She only knew of the infamous Surgeon of Death moving body parts around, but maybe he could move objects around too.

"It's too large for me to move..." he trailed off, his hand tightening into a fist around the sword he didn't have.

"Then..." Pandora closed her eyes. One of her swords appeared into her hands. "Can we just cut it into smaller pieces?"

He saw the large two-handed sword. "It's possible with your..."

"Claymore," she supplied. If she wasn't mistaken, her sword was from an island in the New World that was filled with these types of warriors called 'knights'.

"My ability will be able to manipulate the stone so that you're able to use your sword on it." Law turned back to the obstacle in front of them.

"Seriously?"

Law nodded.

Devil _Fruit powers are amazing... _She blinked at his back before looking down at the blade in her hands. She didn't doubt that his ability could manipulate the very laws of physics, but still hearing it out loud just hit it home for her.

"**Room.**"

A light blue barrier surrounded them and their obstruction. Pandora took it as a cue. She stepped forward and would of crossed her fingers for good measure if she wasn't wielding a sword. With a few clumsy slashes from the Claymore she seldom used, the stone broke into fairly clean pieces.

Pandora's eyes widened when she saw a piece bigger than her fall towards her.

_Shit._

She yelped loudly when she felt an arm wrap around her waist followed by a rush of air as she was pulled away from the danger.

Wide eyes stared half in shock at Law holding her under her arm. His lanky form really did hide his strength if he could carry her weight (the sword had disappeared accordingly) with one arm. The man himself was grinning as he watched the dust settle.

He let her go, the grin still plastered on his face.

"Good work."

She sighed under her breath but a pleased smile was on her face too.

* * *

><p>"I smell something in the air," Bepo said with the tone of someone acting very self-important.<p>

Penguin smelled his armpit. "Huh. I took a bath three days ago though." While this would be considered disgusting for most people, it was indeed the norm for pirates to wash that often.

"What is it, Bepo?" Shachi looked to the bear, who was looking off into the distance at the forest behind the pyramid.

"Captain!" one of the Heart Pirates cried out in joy. Instantly, there was hubbub from the rest of the crew. Making their way to the group of men was their captain and Pandora.

"C-Captain," Penguin stuttered to the grinning captain. He started shooting question after question. "Where did you come from? Did you find the treasure? Why are you wearing different clothes?"

"The other side has an exit in the treasure room." Law angled his head in the direction of the pyramid. "I need all of you to come with me to carry the treasure." He looked to Pandora, who had her arms wrapped around herself as she stood beside Bepo. "Miss Pandora, go back to the ship with Bepo to rest. Take my clothes to the laundry room as well."

"...Aye aye, Captain," she said tiredly. Pandora spun on her heel and walked off with Bepo following close behind, who was asking her what had happened.

* * *

><p>Pandora leaned against the squishiness that was Bepo as they walked back to the yellow submarine. "I missed you guys."<p>

"You were only gone for a few hours, Pandora."

"...and it was the longest few hours of my life."

He tilted his head. "Was it really that bad?" From what he had heard, it hadn't seemed as horrible as she was making to be. He was quickly learning that Pandora could get a tad dramatic.

"It was-" She hesitated, eyes downcast as she thought about Law. He had been acting a little differently there. Was it just her imagination? She wasn't sure.

"It was all right."

"Okay," Bepo said, watching a tiny smile appear.

* * *

><p>Bepo came into her room (without knocking) while she was in the middle of changing. She didn't mind since despite him being male, he was still a bear. He sat at the corner of the hard mattress while she shimmied out of her pants.<p>

"The Captain wanted you to know that you don't have to go out to carry out the gold," he said.

Pandora, who had been reaching for her customary skirt, paused. She had had the intention to go out again. "What?"

He huffed, seemingly exasperated. "He said that you can go to sleep."

She found it hard to believe: Law giving her a break. Did he hit his head when he almost drowned? And also... if he was supervising everyone taking the gold out, didn't that mean that he would be awake the whole night?

"I think that he thinks you've done enough... that you've done well," Bepo quipped.

"I see..." There was a long pause where she was deeply contemplative. "...Isn't he going to be tired if he stays up all night?" Pandora had seen the dark circles under his eyes, knew that he stayed up long nights in the medical bay.

Bepo blinked. "You're worried about him?"

She let out a laugh.

"A little but not why I asked," she replied honestly. She would like to think of herself as a good enough person to feel worried for someone who could drop dead from sleep deprivation. Even though _he_ was the one who told her to sleep _more_. She frowned. You would think he would follow his own advice, if anything.

"Why are you frowning?"

"Thinking of something...funny," Pandora said before continuing. "I'll ask outright then: What does he do late at night anyway?" It had been bugging her ever since she went in the bay that night.

"Why do you want to know?" He cocked his head to one side. "It isn't any of your business what the Captain does in his spare time."

"Curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back." She smiled. "But if it's such a big secret, then I won't pry anymore." She folded her clothes and put them in the drawers as she patiently waited for Bepo to say something.

"He dissects things," he told her blankly.

"...Huh?" was her response. Instantly, an image of Law with a scalpel standing over a human corpse flashed into her mind. She paled at the thought.

"He dissects animals we find in the ocean..." he clarified. She blinked. That didn't seem too bad. It did seem to fit his personality too.

"...other times he writes his findings down," he continued. "The Captain told me he feels more comfortable in the medical bay than his office when he's writing his observations down."

Bepo blinked, as if remembering something from a long time ago. He suddenly said, "He wanted to dissect me once."

"What?"

"My mom was killed by hunters and the Captain thought I was dead. Then he saved me," Bepo simply said.

He could remember how he had stayed by the still body of the larger bear for what seemed to be an eternity and the familiar warmth that did not surround him as he huddled closer to her. And he remembered the confusion that had overtaken his young mind, the bewilderment of why his mother was not moving and the ignorance of the fact that she would never move again.

He could see someone small, a young boy, making their way over the snow bank. Even now, he could feel the cold soft skin of the person's cheek under his paw and the red of his mother's blood that had stained the child's skin as dark, inquisitive eyes looked at him with an indecipherable gleam.

He could remember the small boy and an equally small hand reaching out towards him as the sun sunk under the white blanket of snow.

Bepo was pulled out of his memories when she felt the mattress shift. Pandora had situated herself at the head of the bed, knees pulled to her chest. She was rocking back and forth, or trying to. The wall at her back was a bit of a problem.

"You know," Pandora finally began. "I lost my mom. Did I tell you? Of course I didn't." She was looking down at her toes, but there was a wistful smile on her face that didn't look quite right. "I miss her a lot, so I know where you're coming from. When she died, I thought about her a lot and I mean a _lot_. I still think of her, but less so..." She let out a almost sad sigh, hugged her knees. "When I think about how much I used to think about her before to now, I get kinda... sad and guilty. Do you know where I'm coming from?"

Bepo did. The sad thing was that he knew where she was coming from. He had been really young, younger than what Pandora had been, so he didn't miss his mom as much as the woman before him did hers. But even then...

"But cheesy as it may sound, I try to tell myself after that she wouldn't have wanted me to wallow so much." She shrugged haplessly. "Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't."

His mother's death had also been his first meeting with the Captain. He guessed that was the only reason he could still remember. "I don't think about her much since I don't really remember her all too much."

Pandora frowned. "Then why did you suddenly tell me about her?"

Even he wasn't quite sure. Bepo's nose scrunched up in thought. After a long while, he answered. "Because I thought the Captain was going to go away too."

"Right," she said flatly, but there was a twinkle of sympathy in her eyes. "I'm hurt that you didn't have any confidence in me."

"You don't _sound _hurt."

"That _could _be because I don't feel too hurt." Pandora shrugged, though a dismayed Bepo could practically feel her displeasure prickling at him. "I'm used to people underestimating me."

"You're not very modest, Pandora," he pointed out tactlessly.

She snickered. "I'm not all that great, but that doesn't mean people should underestimate me."

...

"I guess I'm telling you all this as a 'comrade in arms'?" she confessed very suddenly.

Bepo wasn't satisfied, but it would do for now. The whole topic of their conversation was making even _him_ uncomfortable. The pair drifted into an easy silence. Pandora was picking at her hair but was staring blankly at a section of the wall. She turned to him very suddenly, eyes bright and determined.

"Do you want a hug?"

Pandora didn't wait for his reply.

"You're squeezing my neck too hard, Pandora," Bepo complained. It wasn't like she was choking her, but it still.

"...Sorry," but she squeezed tighter anyway.

* * *

><p><strong>irv:<strong> I was going for One Piece-y! Not only the humour and adventure, but also the little (sometimes random!) details that eventually connect. The only one I can think of without spoiling anything are the cute little groundhogs from PYP's chapter 10 that Eneru met when he went to the moon. Glad you're reading despite not particularly fancying OC fics! (:  
><strong>anon:<strong> Her name's actually inspired by that magical myth! It may or may not be touched on later. I haven't decided yet. We'll see if I can fit it in.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** OKAY, I must give some props to a few people.  
>I'm glad to say that the story got <strong>fanart by GirlKitsune<strong>. It's of one of the hopefully funnier scenes of the fic and is delightful to look at. Link on my profile.  
>Secondly, I'm sad to say that I did not come up with the idea of Bepo and Law's past. ): I got the great idea from reading an amazing nakamaship oneshot called <strong>Stained Shadows<strong> by **So Beyond Crazy**. If you have time, you should read it and review to tell her what you think!

Thanks for reading and as always, **please give feedback**.


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N:** Thank you to **SamIAmNot**, **tomatocream**, **xxOMGgalxx**, **Sharingan Hime**, **writrgrl**, **Shadowed-Shikyo**, **10th Squad 3rd Seat**, **Girlkitsune**, **Australia** and **akagami hime chan** for the stupendous reviews. It's always a pleasure to read them.

I didn't really go through it yet, but I will do it later. Updating any later would make me a little... twitchy.

* * *

><p><strong>Pick Your Poison<strong>  
><strong>Chapter 12<strong>

**.**

**.**

**.**

"Sooo... Pandora. How _did _you and the Captain's trip into the maze go?"

The young woman looked up from her book to find an expectant Shachi and Penguin.

"Nothing happened..." She pursed her lips. They had been asking ever since they had set off from that jungle island with a lot of gold in the belly of the submarine. Frankly, they were getting on her nerves. "We got to higher ground, walked around a bit and then we found the treasure. That was it and _why are you two smiling_?" she asked tartly when she saw the grins on their faces widen.

"Ain't that one of the Captain's books?" Shachi said slyly.

Her eyes narrowed. "Yeah. He let me borrow it." It was a medical book, but it was a simple enough book to understand. In fact, she had practically sped through it and was nearly finished. The title of the book, "Beginning Medical Techniques for Dummies", would have alluded to the fact she was reading.

Their grins were now taking up more than half their faces.

"So you're saying you're getting along with the Captain after your little alone time in the maze with him?"

Pandora bristled at Shachi. "Don't make it sound more than it really is," though she didn't deny that they were getting along better. But it was only the size of a pin's head, really.

"Ehehehee..."

"Shut _up_." Whatever they were implying, they would both find it best in both their interests if they shut up right now. She didn't know what she was going to do, but it would likely be very painful to both of them if they didn't be _quiet_.

Penguin held out his hands. "Relax, Pandora." He laughed nervously since the girl had a knack for glaring. "What we wanted to ask was if you wanted to play a game with us. It'll be fun."

"...Right."

"It will!"

Shachi was mysteriously stuffing papers into a spare hat. "Basically, you just pick questions out a hat and answer them. We'll be playing with the other guys." He gestured to some men who were peering at the trio with inquisitive eyes.

"Nothing super personal will be asked too," Penguin added.

She put down the book. "...All right, but only if you get that guy," She used her finger to gesture to one of the other players. "...to stop smoking."

They both stared.

"What is it?"

"We didn't think you would say yes." Shachi rubbed the back of his head. "You know? You're mostly alone all the time."

They were a lot more observant than she thought. If she thought about it longer, it wasn't that surprising. They were under _that _man's command, after all. "...I was thinking about some things." It was partly the truth, but not the only reason she had distanced herself away from them.

Pandora was now re-thinking her decision of saying yes to that man from Sienna de Leone. Getting attached to the crew wouldn't be beneficial for the potential future.

However, the pair of jumpsuit-clad men had grown impatient of her silence and were dragging her to the group for their little play date.

"Yep, yep," Penguin chirped. "Really impersonal questions."

Shachi's sunglasses gleamed ominously under the fluorescent lights. "Of course."

* * *

><p>"These aren't..." She wasn't mad, honestly. Just flustered and maybe an eensy-teensy bit ticked that they lied. <em>Of all the things to do...<em>

A crew member (She couldn't remember his name, but knew it started with an 'M'...) leered at her. "These are questions that _we_ wouldn't have a problem answering."

"Yeah, but you guys are, well, guys. I'm a girl!"

Everyone rolled their eyes and laughed. Another member, one with messy blond hair tucked under a duck bill cap laughed the loudest. "Ya shoulda seen your face when Penguin pulled out 'ta question. Hilarious!"

She tried to ignore the guffawing, knowing that they would make her cheeks heat up even more. Her hands shook as she reread the piece of paper she had snatched from the young man.

"I can't answer this..." she said, resolute. Not because she was particularly shy about stuff like this, but it's just how she lost it that made her reluctant to share with the men. It brought back bad memories and regrets.

"C'mon, Pandora!"

"Spoilsport!"

"...What are you doing?"

That last voice had come from _behind _her.

Pandora tilted her head up to find Law looming above her.

"...I would say the answer is no."

"Why would ya say that, Cap'n?" the blond asked.

The young woman made a little _"eep!" _sound as she jumped in her chair, accidentally rocking the table at the same time. There was a round of exclamations at that.

"Watch it, girl!" the guy whose name started with an 'M' hollered when some fat drops of beer from his mug landed on his stained jumpsuit.

But Pandora was ignoring him, in favour of glaring up at Law.

He stepped back and away from the table before stuffing his hands in his pockets. The hands that had trailed up her spine.

"Just a feeling."

She blurted out, "No, I'm not!"

There was a round of different reactions at that. All of them led to the emotion, confusion.

"Whoa, seriously?"

"Woulda thought ya would keep your chaste treasure guarded. Ya don't seem loose."

"But you wear striped panties!"

Pandora pulled away from the table, intent on leaving.

She gave a passing glance to Penguin, eyes with a promise to deal with him and find out _why _he knew what kind of underwear she wore. He squeaked, while Shachi slapped his hand to his forehead.

She was serious. So serious that it hurt.

* * *

><p>"Loose? <strong>Loose?<strong> I can't believe they called me loose! I'm not a virgin, but that doesn't mean I go whoring around with any man I see." She took a deep breath. "How dare they automatically assume that I'm some kind o_f slut _just because I've had sex. It was only once too! _Once. _I shouldn't be expecting more from them though, sexist pigs. This is the kind of attitude that's beating down women, preventing them from entering a male-dominated society where—"

"First of all," Gale interrupted the ranting woman. "You've changed the subject. May as well stop now if you're done with what you were originally gonna say. Secondly, why the hell are you telling me this, girlie?"

He was a navigator, not a goddamn therapist.

Pandora blinked. "...Because I needed to talk to someone."

...

"Then tell that girly boy you're always hanging out with!"

"Liam?" She waved a hand absentmindedly. "I can't tell him what I just told you."

"And why not?"

"Because you seem like the non-judgmental type to me... Liam would judge me, even if it was unconsciously." She laced her fingers together in her lap. She was sitting in the seat beside him. There was supposed to be an idiot there to steer the ship in case Gale dropped dead or something, but _apparently_, that bathroom break was taking longer than expected.

She smiled. "Maybe it's because you're older than everyone else. Actually... you look to be the same age as my parents."

With those words, Gale developed a theory. "You know... I'm starting to think that you're trying to embody your parents onto me." While it was somewhat flattering, it was also a bit disturbing.

_Ah... _This was bad. He was remembering his family again. A prick of regret as he recalled he had told Pandora a little bit about his past.

Best to forget about that.

She sighed and then to his astonishment, she said, "Maybe... maybe I am." She looked down to her hands, callused from wielding a sword, though not as much as his own burly hands. "My mother died when I was 14 and I haven't seen or heard from my dad in years. Maybe... maybe he isn't alive and I'm just going on a wild goose chase."

He remained quiet.

"...Sorry," she supplied shortly.

Gale felt uncomfortable. Really uncomfortable at the silence that followed.

"...You can tell me about..." This was awkward. "...You losing your virginity if you want."

...

"You _don't _want to talk about it?" he hazard a guess and then grumbled something like, "Women... so indecisive."

Pandora rallied herself for a good defence. "I was thinking of what to say."

"Suuure... I bet you just don't want to talk about it." The middle-aged man gave a rare yet tired smile. The atmosphere was getting to him.

Pandora looked shocked before she recovered, "No... it's not that I don't want to talk about it. It's just that it's the kind of thing that you don't think about or bring up unless someone asks."

Gale's brain tried to process that and it did _not _make sense to him.

"Err... I think it's the kind of thing that you don't want to think about or bring up. Period."

She frowned before sighing.

"I thought I was in love..." she said. "It was a little while after my mom died. There was this guy in my town. For a while, I thought myself in love, or maybe I really did love him. I fell in love in a matter of _weeks_, if you can believe it. And then I just lost it; my virginity." It was clumsy and she could tell it was his first time too. Her mouth took on a self-loathing slant. "I found out later that it was a bet with his friends... But it was okay after that since I left..."

"I ran away, actually."

Gale turned to away from the ocean's depths to look at her for the first time since she came in.

Pandora shrugged. "It was a mistake. I make a lot of them and it was just another one. Just another mistake..." She had trailed off and was now peering at a spot on the wall. "I was stupid."

After a while, Gale followed up by, "It's understandable."

"What?"

He elaborated, "The bastard caught you in your moment of weakness, so it's understandable why you were feeling like that. Doesn't mean what he did was right or how you folded so easily was right, but... I get it."

Pandora's eyes were wide as he continued on. His voice was gruffer than usual. He wasn't used to speaking so much.

"That's why it's okay, girlie. I'm not saying to forget about it, but you shouldn't dwell on mistakes like that, as you said."

"...You really do remind me of my mother."

...

She _ruined _whatever moment they had there.

Before Gale could retort viciously at her remark, there was a sound behind them.

"Captain," he grumbled easily while the girl shifted.

"Gale." Law nodded before turning to the woman beside him. "We need to discuss some things including our next destination, Miss Pandora."

"Right..." There was a second's hesitation that did not go unnoticed by Gale nor the captain. She obediently followed him out of the control room.

Gale watched them go out from the reflection of the glass in front of him, wondering if the girl knew that the captain had been there listening the entire time.

* * *

><p>"Did you enjoy the book?" Law enquired when he was done questioning her on their next destination.<p>

Pandora did not take a step back from his gaze, no matter how much she wanted to. Still, her gaze did wander to the book in his hand because, really, keeping up their staring contest would have unnerved her. There was something about him that just put her on edge. It wasn't fear though, but something else. Something that she knew but did not want to confront.

Because, this man wasn't a good person.

_But that opinion is changing, isn't it?_

She ignored that.

"I'd like to read more if you don't mind. Live up to my name, you know?" Pandora said a bit jokingly.

"...Here." He tossed her a book that would have hit a normal person right in the forehead. Luckily, her reflexes were better than a normal person.

"...Oh." She held it out in front of her distastefully between her thumb and index finger. "...The continuation of the book I just finished reading." Dummies Two, huh.

He leaned against his desk, choosing to ignore her comment. "What do you mean by that? Living up to your name?"

Pandora couldn't help but perk up, eager to display her knowledge, despite her dislike for her name. "In a story, a woman was given a box by the gods and was told not to open it. She opened it anyway, because she was _curious_."

She didn't mention the part where all the evils were unleashed unto the world by the fictional girl because it wasn't relevant, not to what her _father _had thought it meant anyway. Her dad (the lovable fool, he was) hadn't known the second part of the story and simply meant for her name to mean she was curious. As simple as that.

"Do you get my joke?" Pandora was fairly pleased with her little pun until she saw that she was greeted with a nonplussed expression from Law.

...

_Oh, right. _The smile on her face slid off. She had tried to crack a few jokes to Liam and he had told her quite seriously that jokes weren't meant to be explained. Nor were her jokes particularly funny. At all.

"...I've heard a story with your name in it," Law told her. "However, it's unlike yours. It has more information about the fictional woman than you seem to have little knowledge of excluding how she opened a box."

Pandora blinked not because he had mildly insulted her, but because she was surprised that Law knew about fiction and myths.

_On the other hand... _He _did _seem to be a well-read person, so maybe it wasn't that surprising that he picked up a few things here and there.

"Oh," was all she managed out. He was regarding her silently with a type of intensity that was masked but definitely there. The air had suddenly turned awkward, suffocating. Something else was in the air.

She couldn't breathe.

...

"So!" She coughed into her hand, turned away. "I didn't appreciate you butting in back in the galley." She had calmed down by talking with Gale, but now embarrassment was now rushing back in.

"You mean when you boasted that you weren't a virgin?" He was reading through one of his texts. "I apologize for my behaviour then. I was too presumptuous then, Miss Pandora."

"...Don't mess with me," she seethed out.

He turned to look at her. "How am I messing with you?" He seemed genuinely bemused. It was a strange emotion to see on him.

"You're not apologizing sincerely," she muttered. At his questioning gaze, she continued, "You should look at someone when you're apologizing so the other person knows you're being real about it."

...

"I apologize." He said this while he was looking at her in the eye.

Pandora stepped back. He was suddenly too close to her, having crossed the office in a matter of steps.

Law leaned in, until she could feel maybe his lips brushing against her ear. But, she felt a numb hotness burn through her, so she could be imagining it.

His breath tickled her skin.

"...Is that better?"

...

It was. It really was. But she couldn't say anything in response to _that_when he was so close. Why was he so close? She thought he was messing with her again, but he had seemed genuine in his second apology.

Pandora's fists clenched and she stepped back another step to look at the Surgeon of Death straight in the eye. She took a deep breath.

"Your messy office is really bothering me." His half-lidded eyes widened from the unexpected response. The words just tumbled out.

"Can I clean it for you?"

* * *

><p>"Pandora..." Liam grimaced. "You seem kind of... on edge."<p>

She made a sort of jerky motion as she stopped in her task of cleaning the counters for a third time. "What do you mean?" She wrung the rag in her hand and accidentally tore part of it. "Shit."

"Huh," was his flat reply. "Something to do with the Captain?" It was the only thing he could think of. The covert glances at the Captain (that weren't really that covert), the actions just to avoid the man, the way she looked away from him whenever their eyes just happened to meet—

"Zis is a case of ze love-zickness, oui?" Rene had come to stand beside Liam. There was a moment of silence where both men watched Pandora opened her mouth and close it.

Liam only had a chance to take half a breath before he suddenly felt some pressure on his neck and was promptly thrown across the small kitchen against the wall.

"O-OWW!" Liam winced as pots and pans clattered down around him on the floor. Already Pandora was scurrying to replace all the kitchenware into the sink. "What the hell was that for? Rene!" Fat hobo had just grabbed him by the neck all of a sudden!

"You are a setting a bad example, non?" Rene's large hands clenched into _very _threatening fists, knuckles cracking. Not that Liam was scared, of course not! It's just that he was a little disheartened when the only woman in the kitchen had collected all the pots and pans that he could have used to defend himself.

"O-oi..." Liam backed away a couple of steps. His back hit the wall. "What are you talking about?"

"You are Pandora's mentor! And yet! Yet you continue to lay around while ze poor girl cleans!"

"She has some kind of weird cleaning OCD! We already cleaned everything already!" Liam spluttered out as Rene cracked her fists. "I can't keep up with how much she cleans."

The chef's head dipped down, his eyes caught in the shadows from the low lights. The only sound then was the scrubbing and clatter of kitchenware from the sink as Pandora washed. Then, Rene grinned. Liam felt like melting into the wall right about now. Old bastard was going to say something annoying now...

"Aha... so you are saying zat you cannot keep up with a _girl_, mhm?"

Oh no, he did not just go there. Not after that... that incident at the stupid jungle island where his sexuality was put into question. He was still traumatized by that.

So naturally, he got angry.

"You want a piece of me, ya old shit!" Liam roared.

"Old... shit..." Rene's face reddened. "Mark my works, you will pay for that, you fucking brat!"

Pandora was shaking, but not from the fear of them fighting. She held up an equally shaking hand.

"You guys... are going to make a mess...!"

* * *

><p>Pandora made note to sharpen her swords as soon as she was done training. They were dull from excessive use. She ran her thumb lightly across the edge of today's choice, a short sword. Blood did not appear and that only asserted her idea to sharpen them.<p>

"Okay..." she breathed out the cool ocean air as she began her personal training method she had devised herself. She had escaped from the respective wrath of Liam and Rene fighting by slipping out of the kitchen... Normally, she would have been the mediator of the fight, but she was too tired to deal with it.

Because of Law.

She put her thoughts of Trafalgar Law on hold just for a second and turned them to his crew. There was a pause in thoughts and actions before they started up again, the gears of her brain and the intricate functions of her muscles resuming their swings. She had grown closer to them. There was no doubt about that. That stupid game, her admittedly foolish confession to Gale, her stupid closeness with Law.

The thing is, she didn't mind the third one.

She _knew _he was sadistic, a _complete _meanie, admirably polite, remarkably intelligent, loyal to those who were loyal in turn—

_Ugh... _Her arm swung down clumsily. _Maybe I'm a closet masochist if I like a person like that..._

The sword was an extension of her body as she moved through the familiar regiment. It and her memorization sessions of her grandfather's journals were the only logical things that she was now clinging onto.

Hadn't she resolved not to get closer to them, the crew, when she had been labelled a stowaway? Why... when had that changed? Even if she had somewhat willingly joined the crew, she didn't intend to stay forever. It was an unspoken agreement between her and Law that when they were in the New World she was on her own, since really, there would be no use for her anymore.

"Damn..." Pandora's sword disappeared. She bent over, hands on knees and sweat trickling down her brow. She squinted at the crevices and marks on the floor. Carefully, she stood upright again and looked to the orange sun that was touching the waters. The day was ending.

_Somehow_, she thought. _I think this will come back to bite me in the butt if I just ignore it._

* * *

><p>"Psst, Pandora!"<p>

"Open up!"

This was followed by a series of taps against her door that weren't loud, but enough to keep her awake. She rolled out of bed, tripped on her blankets and fell on her butt. The two on the other side must have heard a lot of stumbling and angry muttering before she finally untangled herself from the blankets and practically dragged herself to the door.

She spotted a night cap that looked like a penguin.

"Penguin? Shachi? It's _three _in the _morning_."

They pushed past her wordlessly and in her sleep-deprived state, she could only blink in bewilderment at the empty space before her.

"Guys. It's _three in the fucking morning._"

"We know."

"But we wanted to say something."

Pandora rubbed her eyes, futilely trying to wake herself up more.

"What is it?"

"Sorry."

She woke up pretty quickly then just in time to see both their cheeks turning a faint pink at the same time.

"Haha, how should we say this..." Penguin rubbed the back of his neck. "You know how earlier we were just fooling around? Okay, you didn't know but now you do. We didn't think you would say yes, which is why we asked. We prepared the questions beforehand so we knew the kinds of questions we put in the hat and we only asked because you just seemed kinda..." He grimaced. "A-anyway, you ended up playing the game, which is _totally _cool with us really since we wouldn't not let you play games with us, but it kinda blindsided us and by the time both of us remembered that girls and boys think a little differently, it was a little too late and by that time, we got carried away. So that's why we came by this lovely night-morning and do what we should have—"

Shachi elbowed his friend. "Shut up and get on with it!"

"We're really sorry!" Penguin blurted out.

Pandora leaned against the wall.

...They sweated profusely at her silence.

"It's not a big deal."

"..."

"Okay, okay!" She frowned at their unperturbed expressions. "I thought it was a big deal _at the time_, but if you're really sorry about it, then all is forgiven." She tried to usher them out of her room, but they would have none of that.

"That's too easy." Shachi let out a breath he had been holding. He had been expecting her to be more furious.

"You can hit us if you want."

Pandora thought about it. She thought about it for a good amount of time before finally shaking her head. "If I ever do hit you guys, it'll be on my terms. And probably when you guys are acting like idiots or perverts."

The pair were aghast. Those two things made up a large part of their personalities.

Just kidding!

...Sorta.

Penguin realized something. "So does this mean you _don't _think we were being idiots?"

"Oh no," She shook her head. "You guys were being idiots earlier. It's just that..."

"Yes?" Shachi pushed.

"It's three in the morning and I really want to go to sleep."

"Oh. Right." They sweatdropped.

Pandora sat down on her bed as she blearily tried to stay awake for just a little longer.

"Why are you guys up so late anyway?"

Penguin shrugged. "Talking with Captain about a few things."

She hazard a guess. "The gold?"

Shachi grinned. "How did you know!"

"Seeing as how we found it at the last island, I just guessed." Pandora could still remember how determined Law had been to get the gold. She frowned.

"Yeah, yeah!" They nodded excitedly. "We're finally in the safe zone!"

"Safe zone?"

The younger man of the two looked surprised. "Thought you would know that we've been a bit short with money for a while."

"Dumbass." His friend elbowed him in the gut. He turned to Pandora to explain. "You _didn't_ because we hadn't even met when Captain briefed the crew."

She was hesitant in asking her next question. "What would you have done if you'd run out of money?"

They stared and then guffawed loudly. "'Course we would have stolen it, maybe raided a town?" She grew uneasy at the duplicate grins on their faces. "We had actually thought the Captain would want to do that instead of going into some creepy ruins. We were kind of surprised."

...

"Not really..."

Pandora pressed a fist to her mouth contemplatively, thought of what happened in the ruins. It had been absolutely terrifying and worrying, not knowing what was going to happen next or if she was going to get out alive. But at the end of the day, she was still here.

She was still alive.

"Yoohoo~ You still in there, Pandora?" Penguin waved a hand in front of her. No response.

"Exciting... fun..." she said softly. "...adventurous..."

Was this feeling what Law had meant?

Back at the island, she had understood, but couldn't feel.

Shachi's nose scrunched up. "What are you talking about?"

That snapped Pandora out of it.

"It's nothing." They wouldn't understand even if she explained it. Not because they weren't adventurous, but because they hadn't been there. This feeling of the ruins... It was only hers and Law's. Something almost tangible between the two of them.

Pandora scowled when she found them still in her room. They were looking awful interested and she wondered if her expression had changed when she thought of the ruins.

"Get out guys. It's late. I need to be concentrating so that nothing happens to your breakfast in the morning."

The pair both exchanged weary glances. Did Pandora just threaten them? They replayed it. Thought about it for a second. After a moment or two, the vicious undertone clicked with their heads and they both silently nodded to the young woman before leaving. They crossed their fingers, hoping that nothing suspicious would happen to their breakfasts because their impromptu disturbance of the girl's sleep had went on for too long.

* * *

><p><strong>writrgrl:<strong> Oh, that poor chair... xD On a serious note, hope he wasn't hurt and is a little wary around chairs now. She's a little ditzy like that. (: I completely agree that Law shouldn't have done that. Unfortunately, something like that had to happen since he's Law. ^ ^;  
><strong>Girlkitsune:<strong> I think my laziness beats yours since I'm responding like this. orz It would have been fantastic in a weird way if she had done that LOL. He's opening bit by bit, but will still remain fairly mysterious about his feelings and thoughts, haha... (: Not just props, but **major **props, yeye.  
><strong>Australia:<strong> Two words... No, you.


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N:** Thank you to xxOMGgalxx, RayC736, SamIAmNot, akagami hime chan, Juliedoo, writrgrl, GirlKitsune, PhoenixRage92 and Shadowed-Shikyo for the reviews. Thanks a bunch. :D

* * *

><p><strong>Pick Your Poison<strong>  
><strong>Chapter 13<strong>

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**.**

**.**

Unlike Simiania, Pandora really _had_ been to this island before. It was a autumn island, so while it was a little chilly, it was comfortably so. All she needed to keep warm was her customary jacket. It was also a peaceful place, so there were no alarms when the Heart Pirates came into the village. Nor any people shooting at them, thank goodness. After all, poor Paul was now walking on a limp.

She read the items on the piece of paper Rene had given to her. "We need carrots, peas, some dried meat... Oh, and oranges! Wouldn't want any of us to contract scurvy, would we?"

"No, we wouldn't," Bepo announced quite gravely.

Liam stared.

"...Mr. Bepo, why are you here?" Liam asked. Wasn't this a job that the kitchen helpers were assigned with?

The bear started before he hung his head. "...I'll go away then."

"Bepo, you don't need to go." Pandora put a hand on his arm and used the other to make a striking gesture across her throat to Liam to '_cut it out!'_

"...Y-yeah! You can stay!" the teenager hastily assured the morose first mate. "I just thought you would be with the Captain!"

Bepo shook his head. "No... The Captain is buying medical supplies and he always takes a long time, so I get bored."

Liam's eye twitched. "'Sat so..."

"Well," Pandora shrugged at his reaction. "Now we have more helping hands to carry the groceries."

Bepo shook his head. "I'm not doing that, since you guys are my subordinates."

When the young women stopped walking, the two men(?) stopped.

"Bepo," Pandora looked up. "You're going to be carrying the groceries."

A dark cloud appeared over the bear's head. "...Yes."

* * *

><p>"You've become so beautiful, haha!" the bearded man bolstered out.<p>

Pandora smiled halfheartedly. They had been shopping for hours and were almost done. This man was the last on their list. Good thing too since Bepo and Liam (but mostly Bepo) kept asking her if they were done yet.

He grinned wholeheartedly. "I shoulda thanked ya properly before when ya helped me with cutting down th' tree in my backyard, huh." A hand to his bearded chin. "Think I can do anything for ya while ya still in town, Pandora? Haven't seen ya for a year. Never thought I'd see ya again, in fact."

Pandora looked behind her to see her crew mates surrounded by groceries. Bepo seemed depressed and Liam seemed aggravated. _That can't be good..._

"Do you happen to know where I can buy a Den Den Mushi?" The town was fairly small, but on the small chance that there was some kind of vendor here...

Sam frowned. "'Fraid there's no place to buy 'em here, but..." He reached into the pocket of his apron and opened his hand.

Her eyes widened. On his rough palm was a little baby Den Den Mushi. It was in its shell, but must have felt a change in its location. Two stalks peeked out from the shell to stare at her. She stared back and it slowly withdrew back into its shell.

Pandora put a hand to her mouth. _So... so cute!_

"Mah adult Den Den Mushi just had some babies. I don't know how she did it though." He sighed as he handed her the little snail. She cradled the shell gently. "I'm assumin' it was with the neighbour's snail, if anything. Must have snuck out while I wasn't looking."

"Does... does it have a name?" She had this strange urge to squeal as its shell rolled around.

"Nope. I didn't want that kinda attachment," he explained. "I've been trying to get rid of 'em to good owners. Just abandoning them would be terribly cruel, you know?"

"Well, thank—"

"Holy shit! The eggs!" Liam's voice hollered.

"Oh no," Bepo said, sounding quite crestfallen.

There were a few more exclamations from the pair after that.

Pandora was afraid to turn around, but knew she had to eventually. After this, she was definitely dropping them off at the ship or leaving them somewhere. She needed to be alone for a while. Even if for only a little bit, just to take a breather. She sighed and was about to pivot on her heel—

"Ahaha!" the man in front of her laughed while he pet an adult Den Den Mushi that looked to be crying for some reason as it looked at the little shell in Pandora's palm. "Those two weren't with ya a couple of years ago, were they? I'm guessin' they're pirates judging from the jolly roger, right?"

"Yeah," she said, not sounding very excited about it. "I joined their crew..." _...through some unfortunate circumstances involving climbing on a talking bear's back._

Sam grinned. The girl –now a young woman— had stayed on this island for two weeks. While it hadn't been terribly long, he could tell that she had never been one for crowds if she could help it. Seeing her now joining a whole crew was awful funny to him.

"And you're having fun with 'em, right?"

"Yeah." She rolled her eyes. "Tons of fun."

The man threw his head back and laughed.

* * *

><p>"You're the Surgeon of Death, Trafalgar Law, aren't you?" the middle-aged woman behind the counter suddenly enquired.<p>

Law turned slightly from the medical supplies he had been browsing through and gave her a disarming smile. "And if I am?"

"Nothing. I just recognized you from the bounty poster is all." She shrugged. "We don't want any trouble." She took another breath from her cigarette.

She blew out a stream of smoke. "I've heard in this small town that a certain someone is with you. Maxwell Pandora."

He was done collecting all he needed and headed to the counter. "...I have heard from her that she was here for a while."

"She stayed here for a while and helped out around the place." There was some shuffling as the woman processed all of Law's purchases. "She seemed decent, but really hated the fact I smoked cigarettes." The woman frowned as if she was irritated. "Anyway, she came into my shop to get some stuff for her boat. Interestingly enough..." The woman tapped her finger to her chin. "She bought a lot of burn ointment."

Law remained silent, even after she handed him back his goods (though he did obligingly give her a nod). It was strange. As the storekeeper had said, it was highly unlikely that she would suffer a burn on a ship, let alone a boat. An abrasion from a stray piece of metal or a splinter from the wood were far more likely to happen.

* * *

><p>She had been thinking for quite a while.<p>

Pandora's mouth was set in a miserable slant. Anyone who had come near her had probably thought that she wasn't quite right in the head because of the mutterings under her breath every now and then. Actually, that would only be true if anyone was near. She'd chosen a more quiet yet seedier part of town. There was also little reason for her to believe that any of her crew would be here. There were better places that would welcome them, after all. But as an added precaution she'd donned a simple cap to hide her hair.

_What would be best... _She'd reiterated this question what seemed to be a thousand times in her hand and she was finally to the answer.

The best decision would be—

Pandora's stiff shoulders relaxed in a resigned way.

She had her desired goal, but she had no idea how to get to it.

_...I guess what will come will come. _Pressing the heels of her palms to her eyes, she groaned, frustrated.

This was going to be... tricky.

* * *

><p>The two townsmen had finished work and, out of money because of excess drinking, were now wandering the dark streets of Vernon. It wasn't until they saw a woman walk ahead of them that they perked up. She must have been a traveller because they were certain they would have recognized someone with such a sensual body. It was incentive enough to approach her.<p>

"Who are you and what do you want?" the woman watched warily as they formed a circle around her. She crossed her arms over that nice rack of hers, making the pair leer appreciatively.

The man with a scar on his cheek wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. He, along with his blond friend, were wearing dirty clothes that hardly counted as rags and had large bodies and hands. Hands that were big enough to squash the girl's head like a broken watermelon if they so wished. "You don't know who we are, but you could."

"Not interested," she said and tried to walk away only to have the other thug step in front of her. He used his arm as support on the wall as he loomed over her.

"Why not, sweetheart? We won't bite. Promise you'll have a lot of fun if you come with us." He grabbed the young woman's arm.

Her immediate reaction: to punch him across the face.

There was a flash of regret on her face before it disappeared.

The man howled in pain, while Scar Face looked incredulous for a moment before turning a fiery red. This girl should be grateful that people like them wanted to show her some fun.

"You dumb bitch!" he screeched while he tried to grab a hold of the woman they had only moments ago, been trying to pick up. She had surprisingly dodged and ducked beneath the wide berth his arm's swing had given her to escape.

Needless to say, Scar Face's friend had recovered and grabbed her wrist by a hairs breadth before flinging her back on the wall. He put his hand on her mouth, just in case she tried to cry out for help.

She didn't and bit his hand instead. Hard. He let go, grimacing and then _shrieking _when he felt something (a knee?) get him right where it hurt. The blond man yelled in a pitch like he had just been castrated. She didn't wait for him to recover and instead headed towards the other shell-shocked man, ramming her shoulder into his chest. He grunted. He was a lot bigger than her, but fell down successfully due to the damn woman's boot behind his own foot. He felt something, the woman's boot, step down on his chest.

She was glaring at him, green eyes flashing. "When I said _no_, I meant no, you deaf bastards."

He tried to speak, to curse at her, but was interrupted by a single voice, a male, saying a single word.

Then everything went black.

* * *

><p>Within a few seconds, he had put his nodachi back into his sheath.<p>

Pandora's back was turned to him and she was looking toward the mass of dismembered flesh on the ground. He didn't know how interesting that was for her, seeing as how both men were unconscious now. She moved then, turned slightly.

"...I didn't need your help," she told him. They had been drunk and they hadn't been that good anyway. From what she had done before Law had interrupted, you'd think he would know that. "But even though I didn't need your help... thanks."

Even though she could have completely handled it alone.

"Your movements were calculated." He carried such an interested look about him that she couldn't help but backtrack a little.

"Err... thanks?" Were her movements not supposed to be calculated? Did he expect her to be just whacking people blindly? She may not have been as good a combatant as him, but a few years on the sea alone had taught her some things. Plus her mom's aid had helped. She didn't really understand where he was going with the statement.

He smirked.

"...What?" she demanded, instantly suspicious.

"Why were you in a place like this?" he dodged her question.

"I was thinking."

"About?"

"The crew." _And you, _she added inwardly. It was partly the truth.

If she had known him better, she would have thought he looked disconcerted. As it was with their relationship right now, he just looked bored. "You needed to be all the way here to think?"

Pandora contained the urge to roll her eyes. "I needed a quiet place to think and for the most part, this town is peaceful. There may be some people like them here..." She stared pointedly at the mass of flesh but looked away just as quickly. "...but they're usually drunk and not that great at fighting."

"Can we move away?" There was something unsettling about the bloodless diced up bodies. Not disgusting, just... uncomfortable.

Law kept quiet and pivoted on his heel.

She caught up with him soon enough. Posing a similar question to his, she asked, "Why are you here?"

He held the bag of medical supplies up.

"There are other places to go rather than that place," Pandora remarked bluntly. "Cleaner places." She smiled a little. Not that she should be talking since she had gone to that store too. She recognized the handmade logo on the bag. It was nice to see that the lady there was still in business.

"I wouldn't have purchased there if the supplies were sub par," he said quietly but cuttingly. She hastened to catch up to his steps. He was walking briskly. She raised an eyebrow. It was probably the adrenaline from a few minutes ago.

"Besides," He glanced at her. "The atmosphere was well-suited to someone of my profession."

"Would that be as a doctor or a pirate?" She put her palm to her chin in mock contemplation.

"Depending on someone's perspective, it could be one or the other."

Wow, he made a joke. She couldn't help but smile for a bit before it disappeared.

Or was this what people called flirting?

Pandora stopped walking and suddenly said to his back, "I don't hate pirates or doctors." She floundered inwardly when he turned his head, but pressed on regardless. It could have been the atmosphere that was making her say all this. "Doctors are only doing their job, after all..."

"And why do you not hate pirates?" He continued walking. She huffed before catching up so that she was beside him.

She hadn't expected him to ask.

"Because my dad was a pirate." If Law was surprised by her admission, he didn't show it. "For me, he disclaimed the idea that all pirates are stinky, violent and coarse." He wasn't a saint, but the few times she had seen him, he hadn't _acted _like a pirate.

"Not all pirates are 'stinky, violent and coarse'?" he echoed, amused.

_Which reminds me, should I tell him that it would be nice if some of the men took baths more often?_

Her internal debate raged on until she became aware of something.

"Eh..." Her steps slowed to a stop. She looked around. "Where are we?"

"An alley."

"What I mean is _why _we're in an alley?"

Law pressed his lips to hers for a brief moment before pulling away.

It took her much longer than it should have for her to process what the hell had just happened. A small twitch in her right hand's index finger was the only movement from her as she stared unblinkingly at him. She couldn't see his eyes because of the brim of his hat and his mouth set in a neutral line. She couldn't discern what he was feeling. She couldn't even discern what _she _was feeling.

_What the... Was he trying to do something else but ended up kissing me instead? Did I just imagine that? Why did he do that?_

What just happened?

Pandora slowly raised her fist to her mouth and coughed. _Definitely not my imagination. _She could feel a slight tingling on her lips that refused to go away now.

"Any reason for doing that?" That came out a lot more of a whisper than she would have liked.

"What reason would someone have for doing what I did?" he answered with a question of his own. She stared at him more. "Pirates' lives move quickly. I've adapted to this lifestyle."

"So what you're teaching to me..." She leaned back on the wall behind her. "...as a recently made pirate, I should live in the moment?" Did that include or exclude thinking about the consequences?

"Something like that," he agreed. She noticed that the bag swung widely as he took a step forward. "What's your decision?"

...

She finally smirked. "Captain, a word of advice: A girl likes to be swept off her feet before anything else happens."

There was a snapshot in time of vertigo and confusion as she felt his foot sweeping under her. She was one inch from acquainting her face with the ground before she felt fingers wrap around her wrist and drag her up so that she was vertical again.

"I did _not _mean literally." Pandora raised a hand to her spinning head, but was blocked. Law had his hands wrapped around her biceps firmly to keep her from falling.

"Apologies," he said sardonically. She was fully prepared to glare at him as she yanked her eyes up from the smiling Jolly Roger on his clothes.

In spite of the situation, she blushed.

"What if I had fallen?" she muttered.

"...Unlikely." He let go of her and with a glance, repeated, "Your decision?"

She followed that up by a drawn out yet close-mouthed kiss. Her bag fell off her shoulder and landed on the ground with a dull thud.

"Why not?" was her response before looking down uncertainly.

He raised an eyebrow at her behaviour but didn't comment. "If you don't want to..." He trailed off and his hands released her arms. In response, her hands on his shoulders tightened.

"Just take it easy on me, will you?" Her eyes hardened when she replayed her words. "No, wait. Do it. Definitely." She wouldn't be able to handle taking things fast. She could swear her face was the same colour as a ripe tomato as he tipped her chin back and put his lips over hers. It surprised her at first but then she relaxed a minuscule amount. Acting on instinct, she cautiously opened her mouth. He slipped his tongue in. He tasted of mint and rum.

Their tongues met and she felt liquid fire flowing through her veins as a wave of pleasure shot through her body. Her eyes snapped open and proceeded to widen when she saw that his dark eyes were staring at her, boring right into her until it felt like he was looking at her soul, the flaws and all. It was unnerving. It was terrifying. But... exciting. Just when she thought her heart was going to give out on her, he pulled away.

"That was... it was—"

She wasn't able to finish sentence. Couldn't finish it.

"At your pace," he said against her lips before kissing her again.

For an instant, she saw a pile of limbs and flesh in her mind's eye before willing the image away.

_Because what will come will come._

Meanwhile, the cover of Pandora's bag had jostled slightly and thankfully, all the contents save for a certain shell were safely tucked within the bag. The shell rolled out before stopping and two stalks came out before a soft, slightly slimy body accompanied it. The eyes blinked slowly, as if tired from a nap it had been taking.

The only witness to the pair was a sleepy baby Den Den Mushi.

* * *

><p>"WHAAAAAT?" Penguin and Shachi cried out. "The Captain and you are together now?" When had that happened?<p>

"Yesterday," Pandora said rather vaguely and quietly. The two had shouted at the top of their lungs and everyone on deck were now staring at them, including the two men (the blond and the other guy who's name started with an 'M') they had played that game with. She made eye contact with 'M' only to look away when he winked at her. Ugh, she really shouldn't have told Shachi and Penguin if they were going to make this much noise.

"So soon too..." Now the two were speaking amongst themselves. Those three words made her look back at them.

"What do you mean 'so soon'?" They were expecting this to happen? That kind of made her feel... uncomfortable. She looked back and 'M' and the unnamed blond. Don't tell her that they were expecting this to happen too. That would explain him winking at her.

Shachi shrugged. "We were expecting this to happen is all. Everyone could kind of see it. I mean, now that I think of it, _Bepo _was the first one who saw it when he mentioned tea. Back at the ruins"

Penguin nodded. "Yep. Have you had tea with the Captain yet?"

"...No..." she replied, confused. What tea?

Shachi elbowed his friend. "I bet they've been having something better than tea," he snickered.

Penguin brightened before snickering too. "I think so too..."

On purely instinct, Pandora angrily smacked them on the head.

"Oww..." they both whined out.

A thought popped into her head. "...Which reminds me—" she began.

They were rubbing their hurting noggins. "_What _part of that could have reminded you of anything?"

"—should I be calling you sirs?" They gave her a bewildered look. She leaned forward. "You know, since you guys are higher rank than me?" She paused. "And should I stop hitting you guys?"

Shachi remarked, "Shouldn't you have asked us if you shouldn't hit us _before _you hit us?"

"...Maybe," she murmured reluctantly. Despite the lack of a proper smile, her demeanour brightened almost instantly. "So should I call you two 'sirs'?"

"It does have a nice ring—ow. I mean no," Penguin said flatly, rubbing the arm Shachi had just punched.

"Nah, that would be too formal and crap." Shachi waved it off. "We're all equals here."

"Until we need to do our jobs," Penguin added with a grin. "Then we're not equals."

"Hm..." She rested her head in the palm of her hand contemplatively. "Then why don't you call him by his name?"

She expected them to know who she meant when she said, 'him'. What she wasn't expecting was them stiffening up and plastering on offended faces. She grew uneasily and how enthusiastic they looked. It was inspiring to see them offended (however, baseless) for their captain's sake, but still very, very scary.

"Of course we would not! He's strong and smart and other good stuff like that. He's not like the dolts on this ship..."

"...He is a man that _deserves _our utmost respect!"

"Because he's the great Captain in the world!" they finished simultaneously.

"...Okay." She pressed her palms to their foreheads to push them back. While they were in their Admiration Mode, they had leaned a little too forward for her liking. She wanted to point out that the captain had his flaws, but the sparkling in their eyes (and sunglasses) were unnerving.

Bepo plopped down beside her. "You can call _me _'sir'."

Pandora did a double take. "...Where did you come from?"

"From across the room."

"Why—

"And yeah," Penguin cut in, looking normal again. "Shachi and I make it a policy for new members not to call Bepo 'sir'."

"We forgot to tell you," Shachi said nonchalantly. "So we'll tell you right now: Don't call him sir. It's a policy. The Policy. Make sure you understand. Do you understand, Pandora? Do _not_ call Bepo sir in any circumstances whatsoever. Just nod if you understand. Don't say anything."

...She nodded.

"You guys are lower than me so you should—"

"Yeah, yeah," both said. "We don't care though." Here, Pandora patted a gloomy Bepo on the back, just because it seemed to be the right thing to do.

"Anyway, just make sure you follow orders and it's all good."

"All right. Fair enough." But Pandora was still wondering something. "How does the Captain feel about all this?"

"He doesn't," Penguin chirped.

"What does that mean?"

Shachi clarified, "It means that he doesn't care one way or another."

"I think he likes it though," Bepo grumbled so quietly that only Pandora could hear. She gave him a questioning look, but the bear didn't seem to care or didn't understand why she was looking at him.

"Guys," she called out. "I'm going to town for a bit to say goodbye to some people. I'll be back within the hour though."

Pandora knew they were leaving within the hour, hence why everyone was on board as preparations to submerge were underway. Still, she had some unfinished business left in Vernon. The repercussions of her decisions the night before were already on her mind.

She didn't wait for their reply and headed off into the small quaint town.

* * *

><p>"Really?" Law drawled when his first mate told him that he was the first one to know that something was going on between him and Pandora.<p>

"Yep, really." Bepo nodded proudly. "She was worried about you not getting enough sleep even though she tried to laugh it off. It was really obvious too. Pandora's not a good liar." Bepo thought some more of that night. He contemplated telling before he shrugged. It didn't really matter.

"She hugged me super tight because, well, I told her how you and I met, Captain."

Law's pen stopped moving on the paper and he gave his first mate a look. "Why?"

"Er, the mood was kind of appropriate so I thought I would share—"

"No," he interrupted. "I mean, why..." He paused, notably thinking about something. He had diverted his attention entirely to Bepo, which made the bear pleased. He was usually multi-tasking whenever Bepo talked to him.

Bepo continued, "And then she told me a little about her mom." Law remained silent. The first mate wondered for the umpteenth time why the captain chose to save him. Though he didn't ask about it since he didn't think his captain would tell him anyway.

Bepo perked up as he thought about something else of that night. "She had these strange marks on her legs too. Right over here," he said, gesturing to his own body.

"...That may be why..."

"Captain?"

The devil fruit user shook his head dismissively before returning to his work.

Bepo knew it wasn't "nothing", but had learned that the captain didn't usually share his thoughts if he didn't want to.

So he nodded. "Okay, Captain."

* * *

><p>"You're here somewhere, aren't you?" Pandora called out. There were no places in the town that didn't have at least a few people. On top of that, it was in the middle of the day, so she doubted the man would be anywhere in the town.<p>

Which is why she had gone to the outskirts of town, at the edge of the forest.

"...Your deductive skills are impressive."

She immediately swivelled around, just in time to see a figure emerge from behind one of the numerous Maple trees. He had dark skin like Law's and a hairstyle that reminded Pandora of bullhorns. She felt her heart beat a little faster, not that it hadn't been going a mile a minute already.

Because a CP9 agent could kill her in a second, if he so wished.

If the man saw her nervousness, then he graciously didn't comment.

"Have you made your decision yet?" he enquired, voice devoid of emotion.

"Yes, I have," she said carefully. "...and my answer is no."

The air turned thicker with tension and she thought that she saw his eyes narrow very, very slightly. She briefly wondered if she would have enough time to get out any weapons to defend herself before he snapped her neck. But then her mind drifted back to her mother's words, to how the woman had said that one of the six techniques of CP9's Rokushiki was moving at high speeds.

She may as well just drop dead here and now, but—

"...I'm a wilful person," Pandora explained quietly. "So even if you kill me now, I will fight back." There was no reason for saying that to him. He wouldn't care. It just made her feel more courageous.

"You bought a Den Den Mushi, didn't you? To contact us..." It wasn't a question. She looked up, surprised. He must have seen her. How long had he been in this town? How did he know? "But you didn't tell your crew mates and I'm guessing you're still debating whether to tell them or not, meaning..."

She stiffened.

"...you lack proper resolve just now when you declined my offer."

"That wasn't..." Pandora started, squeezing the fabric of her skirt beneath her hands. She couldn't think of what to say because deep inside, she knew it was true.

He must have seen her wavering.

"Sasha was an excellent agent," he began. "Even though she belonged to Cipher Pol 8, she still had an admirable grasp of parts of the Rokushiki." His eyes seemed distant for a while. "I respected her... We were colleagues." He took in an inaudible breath. "But then she had fallen in love with a pirate, a pirate that she had been supposed to kill. Your mother betrayed us. She betrayed justice. And then they had you, who has the blood of a filthy pirate and a traitor running through her veins." She felt pricking behind her eyes then, but he continued without missing a beat. "When I found out, I was disappointed at her betrayal to say the least. She chose scum over justice."

...

Pandora wondered how this man was feeling. If they really were colleagues, then was it possible that he had been hurt, even a little bit, by her mother leaving? To this man, who believed in the World Government's justice more than anything, what was her mother to his eyes?

He cocked his head at Pandora, whose eyes were downcast. "Will you do the same, especially now that you have the weight of your mother's will and your father's whereabouts so close to being fulfilled?"

"I don't know," she said. Why did he have to say it like that?

...

"Well," he finally said. He threw her a card, which she caught. On it, was a Den Den Mushi number. "That is a contact that you will need if you change your mind. Keep in mind that it is not connected to CP9 since our division will be busy with some issues that must be dealt with in the not-so-far future."

She should throw the card away just to show him that she wasn't planning on changing her mind on this matter, that she wasn't as weak-willed as he thought.

But her hands tightened around his "gift".

He saw the action and smiled slightly before inclining his head. "Goodbye, Sasha's daughter."

When Pandora blinked, he was gone.

* * *

><p><strong>writrgrl:<strong> She had a feeling, but by the time her brain was going, "No! Get out of there!", they were already dragging her to the table. (: Aah, I would have melted into goop, haha. Aaaand... fixed finally. (:

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** I can anticipate what you guys will be saying about this chapter and all I'll be saying is, "Yes, I know." Unless you say something a bit out there like, "I imagine Gale to be a fat but wise hippopotamus in my head." ...Then, I won't be saying, "Yes, I know" LOL. **(Edit 5/14) This means that I know that Pandora fell "in love" too fast.**

Thanks for reading. Feedback would be awesome. Really.


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N:** Thank you to **Juliedoo**, **xxOMGgalxx**, **Fella136**, **SamIAmNot**, **RayC736**, **writrgrl**, **Shadowed-Shikyo**, **10th Squad 3rd Sea**t, **PhoenixRage92**, **D**, **LittleMissUnknown**, **akagami hime chan**, **Girlkitsune**, **DecaddntDecay**, **AceIsTheOnly** and **Manderss.x.x**. You guys are great. (:

* * *

><p><strong>Pick Your Poison<strong>  
><strong>Chapter 14<strong>

"Get out."

Gale could hear Pandora take a swift breath in as she realized that her stealth skills had something to be desired. It wasn't as if he didn't _want _to talk to him (okay, he actually didn't want to talk to her), it was just that he was hungry and that tended to leave him in a grumpier mood than usual. People had forgotten to come to the control room to give him something to eat _again_.

"Gale, that isn't very nice," he heard her say.

"Right, because pirates are _notorious _for their kindness," he snapped back.

She was used to his cantankerous personality and forged on, even taking a seat on the seat beside him. A vein appeared on his forehead.

But he didn't kick her off.

"A crew isn't a crew if they can't act civilly with each other," she said pointedly without missing a beat. "You should make a greater effort to do so."

He thought he heard her muttering 'idiot' under her breath.

"I brought you a sandwich," she told him, obviously trying to entice him. The sad thing was that it was working. "I cut it into two pieces, so that you wouldn't have to let go of the wheel this time."

He ignored her.

"I cut off the crusts."

He frowned. "Give it here."

He blatantly disregarded the smug look.

"And... thanks."

Once he was done polishing his sandwich, he turned to her. She was slumped on the seat and staring at the ocean's depths with a sort of unnerving concentration. She was thinking, that much Gale could tell. He knew whatever conversation they would have now would be of the serious sort.

"What did you want to talk about?"

She blinked slowly, as if waking up from a dream. "Hm?"

He sighed. "I can tell you're not here to make small talk like usual. What's on your mind now?"

"The Captain," she finally admitted. "I wanted to talk about him."

"Why don't you just call him by his first name?" He found it strange that she was calling him by his title.

Pandora looked almost pained. "Isn't that awkward though? Calling him by his name would denote closeness and familiarity."

"Erm..." Gale was a little confused now. "Aren't you two together?" Word had gotten around quickly on the ship, men frantic to spread the news of _their _captain being in a relationship with someone. The crew wouldn't have thought it would have been possible. At least, not until now.

"I suppose we are," she stated.

"You don't seem very happy about it."

"It's not that I'm unhappy," she explained casually. "It's just that I'm unsure."

"What are you unsure about?"

"This and that."

...

"Hey... did you do something to piss the Captain off before you got on the ship?" he interrogated. "Did you guys even _meet _before you got on the submarine?"

"I only asked him for directions." She frowned. "Why?"

Gale waved off her question. "No reason. Just testing an idea." His captain usually kept stuff to himself unless it was considered important for the crew to know. Who was he to butt into the man's business, even if his actions were a little confusing. "If you like someone, then you like someone.."

"Yeah. Like..."

...

"_Did _you hate him?"

"At the start." She felt suddenly irritated. He had shown her that he wasn't exactly how the general public portrayed him. Just most of it was true. "But then he turned out to be all right."

_Asshole_, she couldn't help think in passing.

* * *

><p><strong>A few weeks later<strong>

* * *

><p>"Here, <em>Pandora." Her mother handed her a ring after she had finished bandaging the young girl's wounds. "A courage ring from me to you."<em>

_She slipped it on the child's finger. It was a little loose, but would fit her perfectly with time._

_The girl felt the warmth of her mother's embrace around her._

_"Someday," she whispered to the still girl. "You _will _be strong. We made sure of that."_

_She didn't return the woman's hug._

_"Remember that we love you, Pandora."_

* * *

><p>Pandora woke up suddenly and could feel the warmth disappear.<p>

A dream?

Maybe... it was because they were close to _that _place. She hadn't dreamed for a long time.

She sat up slowly, blearily staring at nothing. Already, the dream was fading from her head and she was feeling colder by the second. She ran a hand through her messy hair, wincing when she felt the knots. She must have been tossing and turning a lot for there to be so many. She yawned, squinting when sunlight from her small window hit her ring.

She slipped it off her hand (holding it tightly in case any bears decided to ram into her). It wasn't tarnished anymore since she had cleaned it and spruced it up a bit.

She spotted something in her peripheral vision.

"Winston. How did you get there?" In between her knees was a Den Den Mushi staring up at her. He was no longer afraid of her, but it had taken a while. As in, a month and a half, to be exact. Pandora lifted him by the shell so that he was in her hand. He was getting bigger and bigger, but snails usually grew pretty quickly, so she wasn't worried about it.

The snail continued to stare at her before it yawned widely.

...

_So cute!_ She felt an insane impulse to hug it to bits, but knew that it would just frighten the little snail, so she opted for squealing quietly.

"You really are so adorable, sweetie," Pandora cooed. "I'll go to the kitchen and sneak you something to eat, okay? Just wait under my pillow."

She had just put the snail under her pillow when she heard a knock on her door, followed by Law coming in.

"...Oh no, just barge right in. Don't mind me," she said.

He ignored her sarcasm.

"I wanted to check something, but it kept slipping my mind." He held a hand out. "Do you mind, Miss Pandora?"

"...No?" Though she had no idea what he wanted to check.

He grabbed her bare ankle.

"What are you- AGH!"

Law pulled on it, hooking her ankle around her shoulder as he slid his fingers up her other leg. She unwittingly ended up on her back, with her head on her pillow. She winced when she felt Winston's shell digging into the back of her skull, but the feeling of pain was replaced by mortification and embarrassment within a nanosecond. Here? In the morning! Was it just her or were they skipping second base and going to third!

He was sliding his fingers up her thighs and pulling up her shorts. The sensations...She would have squeezed her legs together to suppress them if he wasn't _right in between them_. At this rate, her heart was going to...!

"Listen, if you're somehow checking for my virginity, it isn't there anymore." That sounded about two octaves higher than she would have liked. He didn't answer, merely pulled her shorts even higher until they weren't even covering her thighs anymore.

_This guy...! _She was turning even redder, if that was even possible. What was he doing?

"Where did you get these scars, Miss Pandora?" His fingers brushed against the light pink marks marring her otherwise pristine skin. They were at a strange location too, which made him wonder that much more: What had happened? He watched her eye widen before her pupils dilated. Her hands fisted into the sheets under her.

Law was regarding her seriously. It made her chest clench in discomfort.

"I don't want to tell you," she said stubbornly.

He glared and she had to admit, her heart quivered. Not in the good way either.

"...Just don't." Even though she just woke up, she felt haggard and weary.

He opened his mouth, but was interrupted by a violent tremor that rocked the submarine. She cringed when Law landed on her, so that she was flush against him. It didn't hurt and he had cushioned his fall with his arm, but still. He was really close.

She heard him curse under his breath.

"...Another one."

Pandora, who had been trying to get her hands to move to push him off, blinked. "Another Marine ship?" Again? This had been the fifth attack in three weeks. While it might have not been unusual for a normal pirate ship, it _was _for a submarine. How were they finding them when they were underwater most of the time?

She winced when another explosion shook the submarine. She bumped her head against Law's hand, who had put his hand against the wall.

"Shall we go, Miss Pandora?" He eyed the strap of her tank top. "...Change first."

She growled, "Then get off—"

Pandora was interrupted by the sound of people running down the hall, followed by the slam from opening her door.

"CAPTAIN! TROUB-" There was a pause. "Oh... Huh..." She recognized it to be Penguin's voice. She grit her teeth. There was no amount of denial that could remedy the talking that would be going on later in the barracks.

"...Sorry to be interrupting," Shachi's voice said, though it sounded more like a question to her ears.

"Were the Captain and Pandora mating?" a curious voice asked.

"SHUDDUP BEPO! You don't say stuff like that out loud, no matter if they're true or not!"

"...Oh. Sorry."

She found her voice. "We weren't..." Law put his hand on her mouth, giving a isn't-it-funny-if-we-let-them-believe-what-they-want-to-believe look.

Pandora readily responded with a blank if-you-don't-take-your-hand-off-my-mouth-I-will-bite-it look.

He obligingly removed his hand. "Bepo, do you have my sword?"

"Right here, Captain!"

"...Good. Everyone get back up on deck." He got up swiftly, but not before speaking in a faint whisper that Pandora could only hear. "We will talk later."

Her heart was beating fast for a different reason this time.

* * *

><p>Pandora had been running so furiously that she was left panting hard by the time she was on deck.<p>

Already, all the Marines had been defeated. What caught her attention was the mismatch of limbs, heads and other body parts in a pile. There was no blood and the heads of some of the dismembered Marines were crying out pitifully. She raised her hand slightly but then dropped it. No matter how many times she saw Law's ability in action, it never failed to unnerve her. Her actions juxtaposed the way her fellow crew mates were cheering at their victory.

She didn't feel victorious. Not at all as she looked at the whimpering Marines.

"Push them overboard," Law ordered.

"Yes, Captain," they chorused, almost excitedly.

Pandora wanted to speak out, wanted to tell them to stop. The Marines were only following orders. Only doing what they thought was right.

**"Your mother betrayed us. She betrayed justice."**

**"I left because I didn't agree with the World Government and because I loved your father. In fact, he's the one who changed my view of it..."**

She watched wordlessly as the pile of screaming body parts were pushed off the deck.

**"...One day, you'll have your own view of what's right and wrong, Pandora."**

She was a pirate now. She couldn't refute that. _But somehow..._

The pirates didn't pay attention to the lone young woman standing beside the entrance to the bowels of the submarine. They were too engrossed in their own conversations of how they had defeated this or that Marine. The fact that disturbed her was that they sounded _happy_.

_...somehow..._

Law stopped before her, but his face was blank, revealing nothing. Yet, right now, he must have been seeing the tumultuous emotions and thoughts roiling beneath her skin and threatening to burst out. He was an observant man, after all. Pandora thought for a moment that he would scold her or try to reason her to see his way.

She was left alone on the deck.

That hurt more than anything.

_...Somehow, this all doesn't seem right._

* * *

><p>"Yo, why are you so down?"<p>

"Eh?" She stopped trying to figure out if Law had a good hand or not and directed her attention to Penguin. "I'm not down. What makes you think I'm down? I'm winning, after all." Only by a small margin though. The Heart Pirates Captain was gaining ground quickly, partly due to his insanely good poker face. It was even better than hers.

"Can you not remind us?" Shachi groaned as he folded his crappy hand.

"You've been real quiet... kinda like when you first came on board," Penguin commented as he called, tossing a few coins in the pile.

At that, Pandora pointedly ignored Law's silent scrutiny. Why didn't he say anything? Ever since that time they defeated the Marines, he hadn't said a word about her reaction. He had simply gone on as normal. He hadn't asked about _that _either.

There was also how he had joined their poker games. Their little group had begun a few hours ago with more crew mates but after Pandora's constant wins, the number of people had whittled down to the people around the table. It was only an hour ago that Law had come in and shockingly joined. Weird. Very, very weird.

What was he thinking?

"...I'm thinking," she said. Much to Penguin's regret, she raised the pot.

"That's more than what can be said about everyone except the Captain," Bepo piped up. The bear wasn't playing, but was sitting beside his captain. He wasn't close enough to see Law's cards due to the fact that he had the most expressive face that had caused the good doctor to lose the first few rounds. Needless to say, Law hadn't been to happy about that and told his first mate not to look at his cards anymore.

"Shut up, Bepo," Shachi and Penguin said halfheartedly. Neither of them had won any rounds.

"Sorry..."

"Call." Law threw coins into the pot.

"Fold! Definitely fold!" Penguin cried out. He was outta money and outta luck at this point!

The remaining two revealed their cards.

"...Dammit," she cursed.

"Where are we going to next?" Shachi asked an annoyed Pandora. She had lost the round and was shuffling the deck with the expertise of a casino dealer. Law looked positively pleased. It had been one of the larger pots, after all.

She stopped splitting up the cards before sighing. "You may want to ask any of your friends if they have even a _remote_ interest in crossdressing."

The pair stared and remembered when she asked if they had any bananas back in Simiania.

...

...

"Do you _strive_ to say the most awkward things or is it a gift?"

Bepo patted a fuming Pandora on the back. Penguin and Shachi were laughing.

"It's okay," Bepo told her, trying to comfort her. "Being awkward isn't the worst thing that you could be, Pandora."

...The polar bear wasn't helping.

"But most of my 'awkward' things are relevant," she pointed out. "You really _do_ need some people that are going to be willing to crossdress since the next island we're going to is Amoris, a couples-only town, mostly used for honeymoons and such. Or you could just say you're attracted to men."

She smirked at their pale faces. "Anyway, it _can_ function as a rest stop for ships since it's a pretty big town, but they usually won't let anyone in their town if they aren't a couple. Along with that... the couple will have to prove they're a couple." She caught the varying degrees of disgust plastered on the pair's faces. "So even if the Captain and I acted like a couple..."

Law glanced at Pandora before throwing beli into the pile.

"—we would still need more people to help stock up on supplies."

The gears in their brains must have started turning because Penguin started hyperventilating. Hard.

He was one of the prettier guys out of the whole group of losers! He didn't want to dress up like a girl.

"Uhh... are you okay, Penguin?" Bepo asked while Shachi patted his friend's back.

"...It's fine." The other four occupants of the table looked to their captain. "I'll get us in without going through all that, with Miss Pandora's help."

"...Who says I'm going to help you?"

"Really, Captain?" Penguin asked after he stopped heaving.

"Of course he will," Bepo said, confident in his captain's abilities.

"Please, Pandora." Shachi held his palms together. His question was followed up by everyone looking at her.

"I don't know..." She didn't even know what Law's plan was.

"Then, we can simply raid the town." The doctor shrugged. "Although I would rather not since that would be a bit too much trouble than I would like to have."

"Oh! Let's do that then!" Penguin said enthusiastically.

Shachi merely grinned. Evilly.

Her eyes widened. Raid the town? "W-wait! I'll do it, I'll do it!"

"All right." Law glanced at his cards once more before placing them down to signify he folded. "Though I'm warning you that you may not like the method."

Pandora returned his gaze warily.

* * *

><p>"...I don't know if I want to do it anymore, Liam." She was harbouring doubts for days after that <em>very <em>suspicious smirk from Law. What did he mean that she would not like his method, but would enjoy it anyway? Why did he have to say that? Was he _trying _to make her nervous? Why was she even asking herself if he was doing it on purpose. Of course he was. This was Trafalgar Law they were talking about.

She sighed.

Liam turned, bit by bit and exceedingly slowly.

"...But... you _promised_," he said in a tone that kind of suggested he was really serious about her and Law doing whatever. "You can't just back down from a _promise, _Pandora. A _promise_ is the same as signing a contract, the same as doing a blood oath—"

"Um, Liam?" She squinted. Was it just her or was he nervous? The sweat on his forehead, the heavy breathing, the wide and terrified eyes.

"—a pirate, the Captain wouldn't back down on a serious promise, so you shouldn't either—"

"Liam..."

"—noble! Noble! It's completely noble to uphold the promises you have made, but not the bad kind of noble like those bastard Nobles that act so pompous god I hate them so much I want to punch them in their stupid fa—"

"Liam!" She grabbed his arm and he stopped in his tirade. She looked at him earnestly. "I'll do it, okay? You don't have to be scared of dressing up like a girl because it isn't going to happen if I go along with what the Captain says." No doubt the poor boy had been drafted by the other men to be one of the "girls" if Law's plans fell through.

"...Okay," he squeaked in a prepubescent boy sort of way.

She smiled reassuringly.

"Miss Pandora," Law called from the front of the group. They had stopped in front of some very nice iron-wrought gates. In front of the gates were a pair of guards, one woman and one man, each wearing a pristine white and pink uniform: the colours of Amoris. The man was a muscular, frowning man with buzz cut hair and a heart tattoo on his bulky arm that said "WOW" on it while the kindly-looking woman looked to be middle-aged with graying strands marring the neat black bun on her head.

Law slipped an arm around her waist.

She glared suspiciously at him. "Why won't you tell me what you plan on doing?"

"I sense a lack of trust."

"Don't try to pin this on me," though she had a faint smile because she knew the Amorians were watching. "I just want to know."

"...It wouldn't work if I told you."

"Why?" But by then, they were already in front of the guards.

"Hello, dearies," the female guard said cheerily. "Come to Amoris to take in the sights? Of course you'll have to prove your relationship. Nothing much, just a peck on the cheek would do."

Law nodded. "Something like that. My newlywed wife and I were interested in what your town had to offer." Pandora looked at him incredulously. "It's our honeymoon."

She narrowed her eyes at him but said nothing. She still had no idea where this all was going.

The woman's head bobbed up and down. "I see. Then..." She looked over Law's shoulder at the group of jumpsuits. "Then why are _they_ here?" She said "they" as if the pirates behind Pandora were cow manure. The crew flinched under the woman's glare, cowed by the lady that could very well be their mother.

"My crew," Law answered easily. "My wife and I married before them. We actually had to restock and were wondering if you could make an exception for us."

"Hmm..." She put hand to her mouth thoughtfully before brightening mischievously. "You could if you compensate for them by proving your love with the little lady there a little more than just a peck on the cheek."

Pandora was trying to hide the uneasiness coiling in her.

"Do you mind if we use the booth over there?" He gestured to the little booth where they likely stored any guest passes to Amoris and maybe a guest log.

"I found out about your plan eventually," Pandora commented but went along with the charade anyway as she walked with him towards the booth. She frowned "Didn't I say withholding information is one of your bad traits?"

"What makes you think I would stop doing it?"

She was caught in the flow of the conversation. "You could try—"

"Act natural," he intoned again before proceeding to press her against the wall and kiss her senseless.

Wait, what?

Law had grabbed her wrists and held them beside her head as he deepened the kiss by biting her bottom lip. She squeaked in surprise when he shoved his tongue into her mouth, welcoming the taste of familiar spice to her oral senses. There was a familiar feeling in her lower stomach; it always happened when he kissed her. He was faking, she could really tell he was faking but before she knew it, she was caught in his pace.

She placed her arms around his neck as he cradled the curve of her hip and the flesh of her thigh until they were absolutely flush together, chest to chest. It felt nice, like it always did. Everything wonderful like fireworks exploding on the back of her eyelids and a warm tingling sensation against her lips as he alternated between biting the soft flesh and sweeping his tongue over her bruised lips.

He pulled away.

The man pulled away from his wife, making the female guard of Amoris frown. It had been such a nice show too, exactly like one of the romance novels he read in her spare time. Those two had chemistry and tons of it, indeed.

She smiled wistfully. She wished she still had that kind of spark with her husband. Five children tended to extinguish it.

"Well?" the young man asked as he let his new wife lean against him for support. Though he directed this question to her, he was looking to the male guard, who had been watching the redhead. The middle-aged woman looked off to the side to see her companion's pants looking at little too tight. Though she took note to speak to her co-worker about manners later, she let out an amused smile all the same.

"Yes, yes. We'll let you in." She pulled a few guest passes from her pocket. "Just put these around your neck and you'll be free to walk around the town as you please."

It was when everyone passed, excluding the handsome captain, that she whispered.

"Sweetie, just want to tell you that the Amoris hotel offers a free night's stay to newlyweds in case you're interested."

The young man stared at her for a second or two before nodding in acknowledgement.

Still she smiled nostalgically. It really was nice to be young.

* * *

><p>"You know you're kind of..." Liam trailed off, unsure of if he should say <em>that <em>or not because he knew she was oblivious in _that _sort of way.

"Kind of what?" Pandora was tapping her foot, eyes searching within the crowd.

"You're kind of..." How would he phrase this as delicately as possible without her hurting him? Pandora had never hurt him, but he _had _seen her interactions with Penguin and Shachi. Certainly didn't want to be on the receiving end of that.

"Nevermind."

She looked at him. "You sure?"

He gulped a little. "Positive."

...

"What day is it today?" she asked out of nowhere. Before he could answer, she pulled out a small calendar from her bag.

Liam's eye twitched. "Why do you have so much shit in your bag?"

"It's _not _shit."

"A calendar? Really, Pandora?"

She looked a mite defensive. "What if I need to see what the day is?"

"Then you could—" He stopped, finding the argument useless. "Why did you want to know the day?"

"It's my birthday," she muttered to herself.

"It's your birthday, Pandora?"

Pandora and Liam turned at the voice. Bepo and the captain were coming towards them. Her foot stopped tapping.

"We need to spend time with one another," Law explained when Pandora gave him a questioning look. "They're watching us."

She wanted to ask him what he meant, but was stopped when she saw some townspeople staring at them. She stared at one in particular incredulously, only for the person to turn back to his wares when they made eye contact.

She placed a hand to her temple and barely resisted the urge to treat the headache that was coming on. Of _course _they would be watching us. Of course the Heart Pirates would be stuck with one of the few paths to Sabaody where the townspeople were a little off their rocker, like Simiania.

"...All right." She normally spent time with Liam or Bepo when they were on islands, but why not Law? She was actually wondering what he did whenever they were in a town anyway.

"Come." He held out a hand that she stared at for a long moment. It took her a while to figure out why he was doing such a thing before it clicked.

She glared surreptitiously at any towns person in sight before taking it. The things they made her do.

The brim of his hat shadowed his face. "I need to ask you some things."

Pandora flinched. She had almost forgotten about that.

"But now I don't want to leave," she said in a deceptively calm tone as she snatched her hand away a little too swiftly. She added in sagely, "In fact, we should all go together and get some tea." But even as she was saying this, she was backing away slowly.

"I don't really like tea," Bepo stated out loud while Liam watched warily.

Pandora was dismayed to find Law's focus had seemed to narrow on one thing: her. If the circumstances had been a little different, she would be feeling a little differently. However, him matching her retreat step for step was not really giving her any type of elated feeling, just the opposite.

Desperate times called for desperate measures.

"...I have to go to pee—I mean the washroom," she amended, because it seemed crude to say the 'p' word.

She swivelled on the balls of her feet and took off like the devil was on her heels. In a way, it was true.

"Are you going to run after her?" Bepo asked his captain.

"...I'll go after her."

Liam jumped as his captain faced them. "Bepo, Liam." He nodded once before walking off.

...

"He... he knew my name!" Liam exclaimed, a tinge of idolization in his voice.

"Of course he did." Bepo blinked. "Captain knows everyone's name." Silly boy. Didn't he know that a captain wouldn't be much of a captain if he didn't know the names of all his crew members?

"Oh." There was a pause. Then, "Do you think Pandora will be okay?"

"I think she'll be all right. I'm sure the Captain will be good to her since it's her birthday today." He cocked his head. "Maybe."

* * *

><p><strong>Next Chapter Preview:<strong>

_"Why are you asking me all this?"_  
><em>...<em>  
><em>"Because I want to understand you."<em>

**"You should smile more."**

_"...Bepo, get Miss Pandora off the table. _**Quickly**_."_

**"Maxwell Pandora will be the downfall of her crew without knowing it."**

* * *

><p><strong>writrgrl:<strong> I always have a jolly time writing interaction with random OCs. (: It's fun.  
><strong>D: <strong>A well thought out reason would be nice.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **Cheers to **Shadowed-Shikyo** for coming up with Winston's name! Some people were a little surprised by last chapter. All I can say is that all will be revealed in an overt and covert manner later. Just trust me on this.

WAS EVERYONE SPAZZING (even just a little) AT THIS WEEK'S CHAPTER? Goes to show that the Straw Hats can make the coolest characters lose, well, their cool.

Thanks for reading. Feedback motivates me to **update on time**. I realize I've been lying when I say it makes me update earlier. Sorry about that.


	15. Chapter 15

A/N: Thanks to **10th Squad 3rd Seat**, **Sharingan Hime**, **K**, **xxOMGgalxx**, **RayC736**, **writrgrl**, **SamIAmNot**, **Manderss.x.x**, **ConArtiste643**, **AnneLiholt**, **the everchanging**, **Chemistry-Deaf**,**AceIsTheOnly**, **Emz**, **Trickster707**, **akagami hime chan** and **Resha Tsubaki** for the inspiring reviews. (:

* * *

><p><strong>Pick Your Poison<strong>  
><strong>Chapter 15<strong>

Anyone who was watching Pandora would say that she was a mad girl with volatile mood swings. One moment, she was sighing sombrely as she put something back into her bag, and the next (after five minutes of looking depressed), she was looking horrified and crazy.

It didn't help that she was muttering to herself.

"Why am I running away?"

It was silly, now that she thought of it. He was in some kind of a relationship with her and she was running from him. It was ridiculous, now that she thought of it. Completely ridiculous. She even forgot the reason she was running. She sighed and ran a hand through her hair. It had been a good reason though, yet all the running and panicking had made it completely slip her mind.

_It's like going to your room to get something and then forgetting what you wanted until you walk out of the room_, she thought gravely.

Damn, what was she forgetting?

"Now we can get down to you answering my questions, Miss Pandora."

Aah, now she remembered why she was running away.

Pandora sprang forward without looking back, intending to run again. How he caught up to her was a mystery to her, but not one that was a priority for her right now.

Unfortunately, he had expected the reaction and wrapped an arm around her waist.

"Okay, you caught me." She gave up because, yes, he did catch her and yes, she was feeling resigned and weary. "Do you enjoy seeing me in pain?

"...What would be your definition of pain?" He eyed her before focusing on their surroundings and frowning. She had to agree with his reaction. The entire town was, in one word, ghastly. It was an entertainment town, much like Sienna de Leone, and catered to couples. As such, there were so many pinks, whites, reds and variations of those colours that it made her eyes hurt and head spin. Still, even with the distracting decor of the whole town, there were looks from people. At first, she thought it was because looked like they were around the same age, walking beside each other _and_ didn't look like family. Pandora was displeased at this thought. It seemed these factors always contributed to people assuming that two people were together.

(Not that they weren't together, but it would be a change of pace if someone thought otherwise)

Now that she was paying more attention, Pandora noted that they were looking mostly at Law and had an aura of wariness around whenever she and him passed. It wasn't the first time this happened either, but now that they were so close to the Grand Line, the looks were increasing.

_He sure is known... _Pandora observed mildly. In the first half of the Grand Line, she hypothesized that pirates likes ones from the Eleven Supernovas were infamous. Afterwards, what infamy they had would die down unless they did something to counteract that.

_Will Trafalgar Law be famous in the second half though? S_he was confident with saying 'yes'. Having gotten to know Law more –even just scratching the surface— she felt that he was bound to make a splash (no pun intended) of some sort.

...She wouldn't be there when it happened.

"Not physical pain, per say," Pandora hedged, trying to think of an answer.

Law shrugged before admitting, "I enjoy physical pain in my enemies."

She didn't want to get into that now, so she ignored it. "More like you enjoy messing with me."

He inclined his head and let out a cool, "I do."

"Screw you," was her auto response before she bit her tongue.

"You don't seem to mind all too much," he remarked dryly.

That was because Pandora didn't like confrontations, though she would never tell him that. They made eye contact, but she turned away quickly.

He smirked, just a bit. "You can attempt to do the same with me."

She stared at him. Exactly _how _was she supposed to do that?

Pandora finally said, tone annoyed, "It seems hopeless."

"Those who don't even attempt something have already failed."

Pandora paused. She had an urge to see what expression he was making, but Law was already walking ahead.

She grabbed his sleeve.

There was no hesitation as she kissed him.

There was something quite satisfying about the way his eyes widened. He was definitely surprised, probably because he was the one always initiating the few kisses they had with each other.

"Since it's my birthday today, you should spend time with me today and make me happy," she said seriously.

He raised an eyebrow before saying quietly, "You want to celebrate your birthday?"

She smiled enigmatically. It was in the next second, she added, "My birthday gift should be you not asking any questions."

There was a long drawn out silence. It made Pandora sweat a little.

"A yes for the first one, no for the second one," he answered. "I'll ask you about it later, but no more delays after that, Miss Pandora."

"...Fine."

He had been right in asking. She didn't want to celebrate her birthday.

* * *

><p>They hadn't done anything in particular, just shopped until Pandora literally dropped on the floor, so they went inside a small place to eat. They hadn't bought much either since Law had prohibited her from buying a lot of things that she wanted because he hadn't thought they were "useful", tch. A weed whacker was completely useful. The next time they were on another jungle island, she would be the one laughing.<p>

Pandora leaned her head against the wall beside her tiredly. "Bepo told me that you didn't kill him even though you had planned to."

Law shifted his gaze from the menu. When she didn't say more, he replied, "Is that all you wanted to say?"

_No, it's not._

"...I couldn't imagine you doing that. I still can't," she said, voicing her thoughts out loud. "You wouldn't have a reason to." Law wouldn't take in a traumatized polar bear cub, especially if it wouldn't prove to be any use to him. Did the child Law really envision that he would have the polar bear as a first mate who would be a karate expert?

She doubted it.

"Why are you asking me this, Miss Pandora?" He had picked up the glass of water but made no move to drink it.

She shrugged. "Because I want to find out what makes you tick?" she answered lightly.

It was because she didn't understand him well that she still didn't know why he...

The condensation from the humid air and cold water caused a drop of water to make its slow descent down the side of the glass. She watched intensely. She didn't want to look at him now, not with the risk of seeing what kind of expression he was making. He was probably laughing at her—

"It was a moment of weakness, though it did prove to be useful in the end."

She heard him sigh, but it wasn't in aggravation.

"Weakness... It won't happen again," he promised. She didn't want to ask him whether or not it was a promise directed to her, or in general.

* * *

><p>Pandora polished off her ice cream and sighed as she stared ahead of her contemplatively.<p>

This day wasn't going quite as she hoped. Or expected.

She gazed at Law through half-mast eyes. It was one of the rare times he was looking for supplies for sword maintenance instead of medical supplies. He was bartering with the vendor. Or more like threatening the poor man.

There would be repercussions if she allowed herself to care for him more. Trust him more.

_"Grab her and hold her down!"_

_"But I didn't do it, I didn't do it!"_

_Why... why didn't anybody believe her?_

"Miss Pandora, you're trembling."

"I'm shivering." Immediately after Law had said that, she stopped "shivering."

She could tell he didn't believe her. The natural temperate climate of the island may have tipped him off.

"I know." Pandora stood up and brushed her skirt of any invisible, nonexistent dirt. She looked at him straight in the eye. She should just stop thinking. She thought too much.

"Your gift to me could be the scalpel you keep in your pocket," she continued.

"And why would I do that?" He smirked, but was listening, at least.

"It's a part of you..." While it didn't sound like a very good reason out loud, she couldn't say what she was thinking. It reminded her of him. She'd like to have something of his. She wanted something that would remind her of him, that would make her think of him.

Oh wow, it sounded like she had confessed to him.

_Well..._ she bit her lip. If he chose to pursue it, then she would address the issue. If he didn't, then she wouldn't say anything more.

There was a lengthy silence.

Much to her relief, he procured his scalpel from his back pocket and she reached out to grab it, but was stopped from pulling away.

Ah, so he wasn't choosing to pursue it.

"Is there something wrong today, Miss Pandora?"

_I'm okay..._

She was staring at the scalpel in her hand. She didn't know the metal it was made of, but was guessing stainless steel. It was in good condition too, just proof that Law took good care of his surgical instruments. She doubted he used this one for surgeries though since he kept it on his person at all times. It wouldn't be safe, sterile enough, to use on a person. She had a feeling he used it in unsafe "operations".

Just more proof and another reminder to her that the Surgeon of Death could be very cruel.

"You know I trust you, right?" she told him, putting as much sincerity into her words as she could and ignoring the pain in her chest. Deep breaths.

Another lengthy pause.

"...You shouldn't," he said finally.

Oh, she was fully aware of that, but found it surprising that he would tell her that. Warn her like that.

Still...

She gave him a small smile, incredibly sincere despite its tiny size. "I know."

"If you know..." He gently pressed her fingers so that it curled around the handle of the scalpel. The metal still felt cold. It juxtaposed his warm, callused hand.

"...Then it's fine."

* * *

><p>Law and Bepo had gone back to the ship to tell Gale of their next destination and drop off some things, courtesy of Pandora. She wondered if they had noticed her distress while she described the next island. She was positive Bepo didn't because he was Bepo. For Law, she wasn't sure. He had asked her earlier if there was something wrong today, but other than that, hadn't said anything.<p>

Her scars were itching again.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, PANDORA!"

She was also stuck in _another _bar with her crew mates.

Pandora turned to Liam to pin him with a vicious glare.

He held up his hands in surrender.

"I didn't tell them anything! It was Bepo."

_I'm going to kill him. Annihilate him until there is nothing left. Not even a piece of singed fur, _she thought murderously. She hadn't wanted to blow her birthday out of proportion, or any proportion. She shouldn't have said that today was her birthday. There had been no point in saying it now that she thought of it. Was this karma for thinking out loud?

_I'm becoming an idiot..._

"Oh, come on, Pandora!" Shachi said. "Have a drink!" He was already drunk and wobbling, of course.

"If she doesn't want to drink, she doesn't have to!" Penguin retorted. Him too.

"What the hell? Of course she should! It's her birthday! She _has _to drink! It's pretty much mandatory!"

"If she doesn't wanna, she doesn't wanna!" Penguin grabbed the mug to take it away, but Shachi kept a firm hold of it. In moments, there was a tug-of-war going on right in front of her. She frowned. Weren't these two supposed to be best friends?

"I bet you have a crush on her, don't you, Penguin!"

"No, I don't! I'm just fightin' for women's rights and shit like that!"

"You just called it shit, haha!"

"No, I didn't!"

"Yes, you did!"

"No, I didn't!"

"Yes, you di-!"

Their tug of war ended. Pandora watched with wide eyes as as the mug (thankfully, wooden) flew in the air and landed right on Liam. The contents of the cup splashed all over him, his white jumpsuit turning a disgusting brown. His dark, chestnut hair was dripping with the alcohol and making his bangs stick onto his forehead to shadow his eyes.

Silence. At least at their table. The rest of the crew mates hadn't noticed over their raucous partying.

Liam. _Exploded._

"What the _fuck _is wrong with you two!" he screamed in a rage, disregarding the fact that he was shouting at his superiors. That didn't seem to register in their minds though, because Penguin and Shachi were drunkenly cowering. "Are you two fucking kids! Is there something wrong with your head, stupid pieces of shit!"

There was huffing from the youth and he opened his mouth to shout again before all three heard it. The sound of laughing from a woman. They all turned to face Pandora, who was clutching her stomach and laughing against the table. There were a few moments of awed silence as she sat up, wiping a tear from her eye.

"Maybe... I'll drink, just this once."

Just one couldn't hurt.

* * *

><p>When Law and Bepo were within sight of the bar was when they saw Penguin and Shachi running out of it. After going back to the submarine to drop off some purchases, they came right back to enjoy the festivities.<p>

"What are you two doing?" Bepo asked when he and the captain were within speaking distance. Penguin and Shachi were soaked in alcohol and was it just him or was Penguin _limping_?

The two flinched before turning bit by bit to their captain and his first mate. They smiled, um... grimaced nervously.

"Now I know why she says she doesn't drink. I _understand_," Shachi stated. It wasn't really an answer, but may have been as equally disturbing.

"I... I feel sick." Penguin was bent over, dry heaving.

Bepo's nose wrinkled. "Ew."

Law ignored his three subordinates and opted to make his way past them to open the doors of the bar.

When he entered the bar, with Bepo following close behind, he was greeted with the sight of Pandora standing on a table about to take her shirt off. Cheeks flushed and beaming foolishly, she was already halfway done with her buttons, but had given up due to the encouragement of the men.

She started screaming out things that made no sense to Bepo whatsoever, but only encouraged cheers from the equally drunk men.

"...Bepo, go get Miss Pandora off the table. Quickly."

"Okay, Captain." Either Bepo did not notice the strain in Law's voice or he did not care. It was probably the former. The first mate waddled to the centre of the crowd where the redhead was and blocking the views of many protesting men. It may have been one of the rare times the young bear did not apologize.

"...Ehhhh..." Pandora stumbled and then giggled at her actions. The mug in her hands sloshed the dark golden contents all over her arm, but she didn't seem to care. "...What are ya doing here, Be—ECK!"

Grabbing her arm, Bepo pulled the young woman over his shoulder and made his way back to Law. The men, who had been complaining loudly, immediately stopped and sobered up when they their captain.

"C-captain! We didn't do anything!" a crew member explained frantically.

"T-that's right! Pandora _wanted _to drink!" another one said.

"She only had half a glass before she started acting like that! We din't expect it!"

Law ignored all of them, reaching over to grab the wrist of the whining drunkard. He turned to Bepo. "Stay here. If any of the crew start acting too out of line," Here a dark smile crossed his features. "You have my permission to exert physical punishment."

Bepo nodded enthusiastically. A little too enthusiastically. Some of the men eyed him suspiciously.

"Aye aye, Captain!"

* * *

><p>"You ruined my fun." When he didn't answer, Pandora pouted and stopped stubbornly. She stomped her foot. "You <em>ruined <em>my fun!" There were plenty of people on the street, but she had very recently developed tunnel vision on one person.

He ignored her, grabbed her arm and began leading her to Destination: Unknown. She frowned. Where was he taking her?

"This isn't the way to the ship," she sniffed haughtily. Some captain to have a poor sense of direction!

"The walk to the ship is long." He led her away from the main road for them to travel on. The prying eyes of the public disappeared. He turned and sighed. The young woman was staring at her feet intensely, which was the reason she wasn't stumbling as much anymore.

"Can you carry me?" Pandora shrugged away from Law's hold and put her hands to her hips in a holier-than-thou (if not drunken) way. She demonstrated with her hands. "Do you know what they call the kind of carrying I want? It's called the princess carry, which I think makes sense since in all those storybooks, you have all those princes carrying princesses." Her eyes widened before she beamed happily. "Oh! But I'm not saying that you're a prince and I'm a princess since we're obviously not because we're pirates and HAH, could you imagine _you_ being a prince?" Pandora was the only one laughing. "Besides, it's kind of not good to be a princess or a prince since they're Nobles and I for one wouldn't like to be a Noble since I wouldn't like to disliked by everyone else but other Nobles. Haha, what do you think, Law?"

Law was about to ignore her.

"I will become dead weight if you try to make me walk again!" she announced loudly and arrogantly.

...

"Not like this," Pandora whined loudly. He was carrying her, but not in the right kind of way! He was carrying her over his shoulder. "Not like this!"

...

"Stop ignoring me!"

...

They reached their destination soon enough. There was no one in the lobby of the hotel except for a bored-looking front desk worker who immediately perked up when he saw Law. Though not directed at him, the glare from the pirate made the worker instinctively paw for the key to the penthouse suite.

As soon as she was dropped on the cushy king-sized bed, she began to roll around the comfy sheets. Her skirt was riding up higher and higher the more she fussed with the sheets and her shirt was slipping off her shoulder more and more, revealing supple creamy skin accompanied by a bra strap.

"..."

He turned away.

...

Law was sitting on the edge of the bed when Pandora realized he was there. She was bored with the sheets. Seeing him made her incredibly... warm and she had no idea why. Crawling up all fours, she wrapped her arms around him and pressed herself against him.

"Laaaw, why did you take me here? This isn't my bed." She pouted.

"It's a shorter walking distance."

She blinked before grinning like a silly fool. "Liar, liar, pants on fire! You want sex, don't you? _Every _man wants sex. It's in their nature!" She slid off the bed and, with impressive speed, made herself at home on his lap by straddling it. "Why can't we anymore? I'm not scared. It won't hurt anymore."

"Another time..." he explained while she slid her fingers over his clothed body.

"Aah, I see..." But even then, she proceeded to kiss at his neck as her hands went under his hoodie.

It was after a few _minutes _that he grabbed her wrists. She blinked blearily, wondering why he stopped her.

"You're playing with fire, Miss Pandora," he said lightly, though he sounded a bit breathless to her ears. His fingers tightened around her wrists.

She smiled, eyes half-closed. "But you're a doctor, so you'll treat me if I get hurt."

She leaned forward and met his lips.

* * *

><p>"...Blueno, you're back," the man sitting on the crate nodded to his fellow agent. His hand was held out as his pet pigeon came back. Sending Blueno had been for strategic purposes. He was the only CP9 agent whose cover job wouldn't arouse any suspicion if he went away for a few days. Still, there was still the issue that Blueno had known Sasha before this. Not that he hadn't known the woman too but unlike Blueno, he hadn't been fond of her. "How was the girl?"<p>

"Rob Lucci." Blueno inclined his head. "Regrettably, she didn't agree to our terms." His eyes narrowed. "But I made a fail safe way to ensure the Marines find her." He shrugged. "She'll be the downfall of her crew without knowing it."

"I didn't mean that and you know that."

...

"...She looks like her mother. Nearly a spitting image."

Rob Lucci leaned back against the crates, directed his stare from the vast ocean before him to the man behind him. "Do you mind it?"

"...She isn't like Sasha."

"Hmm..." he hummed out his response. There wasn't any reason to dwell on the topic any longer. There were more pressing matters to attend to. Pressing matters involving Sasha's daughter. New information had come in the more they looked up on the girl's recent actions and past.

"You know that the girl's name is Maxwell?" The question had been rhetorical because he knew that Blueno would know that much and more. As expected, the bulkier man nodded. "Well, we found out a few more things, building upon the fact that her father was a pirate _and _her last name."

"What was it?" Blueno's impassive mask remained, but Rob Lucci had learned of reading past the disguises that people wore. It only made it easier that he had worked with the other man for years.

Blueno was curious.

"A few years ago, Sasha and her daughter travelled to Sabaody Archipalego," Rob Lucci began. "That, by itself, was of no real consequence due to the fact that the island they had made their home in was one of the final islands before reaching the archipalego." One could say that they had just been shopping or taking in the sights. Cipher Pol had thought the same. Until now. "But we dug into it a little deeper, especially after we confimed that we would be using Maxwell Pandora as one of our pawns to capture one of the Eleven Supernovas. We've determined something."

An intake of breath.

"About 13 years ago, Sasha Fierce made contact with Gol D. Roger's first mate, Silvers King Rayleigh."

* * *

><p><strong>Next Chapter Preview:<strong>

_"Miss Pandora, tell me what happened."_

**"You saw me **naked**?"**  
><strong>"It's nothing I haven't seen before."<strong>

_"Just one more island... until the end."_

* * *

><p><strong>K:<strong> Are you the anon from before with the art? If you are, thanks for the continuing readership. If you aren't, still thanks! xD You will definitely find out about the scars next chapters. Definitely, yes. Glad to see you like them, especially Gale, haha. ;D  
><strong>writrgrl:<strong> He knows it too, even admitting that he becomes a little more sadistic when he's with her, haha... x)  
><strong>Emz:<strong> Thank you. (:

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** Lots of introspect from Pandora in this one and lots of PandoraLaw in the next. And yes! the mysteries just keep building up. (: The ending of this story you may not exactly be happy-go-lucky about, but it'll hopefully be on the explosive(?) side.

Thanks for reading and feedback fuels my inspiration.


	16. Chapter 16

A/N: Thank you to **AnneLilholt**, **PhoenixRage92**, **writrgrl**, **10th Squad 3rd Seat**, **Piacine**, **the everchanging**, **Chemistry-Deaf**, **Manderss.x.x**, **Girlkitsune**, **Fella136**, **AceIsTheOnly** and**SkittlesKat** for the reviews. Haha, a few of you liked the implied sex scene last chapter. Unfortunately, if they do ever have sex, it'll be very vague. **Don't want to bump this to M.** x|

* * *

><p><strong>Pick Your Poison<strong>  
><strong>Chapter 16<strong>

They hadn't gotten far, just some kissing, but no clothes were removed. She was breathing harshly against his collar. She could feel his breathing too, knew that it wasn't as hard as hers, but no doubt that he was a little tired from their activities.

Pandora thought she heard him curse under his breath, but that could have been her imagination. She didn't feel all quite there.

"...That's enough," he stated carefully while he placed his hand on her thigh to get her off him. Her eyes snapped open.

"Don't touch me."

She had pushed away from him, back hitting roughly against the drawers behind her. She wasn't seeing Law anymore, but that group of kids and her mother's sadness-

"Miss Pandora."

She jolted, remembering herself.

"Sorry." She suddenly felt sick and dizzy. She removed her hand and tried to put it casually behind her back. He wasn't looking at her with disgust or pity, merely the calm inquisitiveness that she had now associated him with. It made her feel minutely better.

"Sorry," she repeated.

"...Could it have something to do with your behaviour today?" Law had gotten up to stand in front of her. His thumb pressed firmly against the pulse of her wrist clinically. She wondered if he did this to any victims he ever interrogated to see if they were lying...

She wondered if it worked.

"No, I mean yes... Maybe." She turned away. She had been thinking about a lot of things today. For some reason, she was feeling a little... slow, like something was clouding her senses and thoughts. She wondered why that was.

He released her. "...Does it have something to do with the injury on your leg?

...

Law observed her stiffening, every muscle in her body tensing and locking up. Her eyes were wide with fear, fear of having been discovered.

"No..."

He was completely apathetic to her distress. He despised being treated like a fool. He had seen the scars on her skin, had felt them just now. He was almost positive that was why she had jumped away from him.

He moved away and she stared at him. He was settling into the sheets.

"You... you aren't going to ask me?"

"Would you care for me to?"

She didn't know how to answer that. Well, that was a lie. She was about to answer. She had just needed some time to think about how she was going to go about it.

Pandora took in a breath. It was a good thing he wasn't facing her.

"The next island we're going to is where my town is." She was regaining some semblance of composure. The calmness from Law must have been rubbing off her because, for now, she was a little better. "I don't want to go back," she admitted.

He didn't say anything for a long time that she begun to think he had fallen asleep. She started when he responded.

"And why is that?"

She walked up to cautiously at first, tippy-toeing as if she was afraid to break that silence that followed right after. The inhibitions that she normally carried weren't present as she sat on the bed and hovered over him, hands on either side of his head. It felt like now was a good time to make eye contact because anything else wouldn't do now. She smiled a bit too giddily when he opened one eye to meet her gaze.

The smile disappeared.

"...When I was 8, I was turned on by kids I thought were my friends." There were terrible memories at the island, and happy memories that made it painful to be there too. But, the fear for the former was what making her not want to go back at all. She didn't want to see those people again. The fear... the burning humiliation, most especially. She didn't want to face them again.

They had opened the fence of the sheep belonging to one of the richer families in the town. Even though, she had warned them, she had _warned _them not to do that, but they had wanted to play with the animals. One way or another, the sheep had ran and had wandered to the forest nearby and were killed, most likely by wolves. Farm animals were greatly desired, so the loss of all of them must have been devastating.

The son of that family and his friends had found out it was Pandora and her friends who had been the culprits. In the end, they-

_"Whose retarded idea was it?" the boy growled. He was a few years older than them. The effects of puberty apparent from his lanky form and changing voice. Behind him were his lackeys that were taller and looked to be stronger and older than him. He ran his hand through his blond hair before turning to glare at the group of shaking kids. He grinned maliciously. "Well? Whose idea was it!"_

_A girl stood a little a ways from the rest at the back, red red hair obscuring her shut green eyes. These boys- teenagers were known to bully -physically hurt-people younger than them, even if they were younger than them. She was hoping that they went away soon, hoped that nobody would get hurt._

_"It was her! She did it!"_

_Her eyes opened and widened when she saw the finger pointing at her, from a girl she had thought was her friend. Her mind was frantic for an explanation, but there was none that came up. The girl who had accused her wasn't looking at her. She backed away when she felt the stares of everyone on her. She bit her lip, because it really hadn't been her idea. She took a meek step forward._

_"I... I didn't do it!"_

_The teenage boy sneered. "Then who was it?"_

_"She really did do it!" a boy who she also thought was her friend exclaimed._

_"Yeah, she's the one who told us to! We didn't want to, but she kept whining!" another person._

_The young girl was trembling by now, confused and out of sorts. She hadn't made them do anything. Why...? She wanted to speak up again, but her mouth felt dry. Her tongue felt like sandpaper as she touched it to the roof of her mouth. She wanted to shake her head, speak out, do anything, but all she could do was stare disbelievingly at thekids she had become "friends" with just a short while ago. None of them, except one, looked at her. It was the girl who had accused her in the first place. Her eyes held pity, but no apology for what she had done._

_She wanted to cry, but maybe it was shock because nothing refused to come out. She was barely breathing at this point._

_"Fine." The blond boy grinned. "All of you, except you..." Here, he pointed to the redheaded girl. "...are free to leave."_

_They all ran past her and she thought she could hear a few hushed apologies, but she couldn't respond to them._

"They... the boys had managed to get cigarettes and lit them." Here, she felt genuinely sick and pulled away from him. "...They took off my pants and-"

She had tried to hide them from her mom at first because even back then, she had known how horribly _embarrassing _and terrible it was. She knew her mom wouldn't judge her and wouldn't blame her, but Pandora did. The "if only's" were whirling around in her head even now. If only she had run, if only she had fought them _if only I hadn't trusted those kids. _She had tried to clean them with water, but they soon got infected. That's half the reason why there were scars there now.

Her mom had found out eventually.

Pandora didn't want to remember her mother's reaction.

The ring around her thumb felt warm.

"-they burned me."

She stumbled away. Perhaps it was because it was the end of her story or the nausea happened to make itself apparent at the worst possible time, but-

She bent over and threw up.

...

He turned her on her side, so that she wouldn't choke on her vomit. The smell wasn't terrible, but he couldn't say he would enjoy sleeping beside a pile of throw-up. His hand hovered over her face, but in the end decided not to touch her cheek and instead his eyes were caught on the glint on her thumb that looked to be too big on her. As a pirate, he could tell that it was real gold but that was it.

"..." He sighed before standing back up to leave to the reception desk to persuade the boy down there to give him spare clothes, flicking the fan up to high as he left the room.

Perhaps a new room.

In the room on the ground, Pandora curled into a ball and shivered.

* * *

><p>Pandora woke up in a plush bed and to a pounding headache. She sat up slowly and mildly realized that she was wearing a shirt that was too large for her. She shook her head, but it only made the pounding worse. She heard a groan -her own?- pierce the haze of the indescribable, painful ache. She put a hand to her forehead. It didn't look like she had a fever either and she didn't feel sniffly from a cold, so... <em>Why...<em>

Her eyes widened ever so slowly when she saw that someone was _sleeping beside her_.

Her first reaction: Act first, ask questions later.

Pandora's brows furrowed as she grabbed the shoulders of the mystery person and straddled the person, the need to incapacitate at the forefront of her mind. Her grip was undoubtedly painfully tight, but the intruder hardly reacted, save for a hand around her neck that wasn't painful but sent warning alarms to her head.

"Why are you..." It was here that Pandora finally scanned her surroundings. They were in a... hotel room? At least, that's what it looked like. A nice hotel room too, the kind that were usually on the higher floors of the most lavish hotels. The kind that she would never be able to afford, nor would ever want to pay for since the money could be put to better use. Then, did that mean Law paid for it? But why would he do-

Pandora recoiled, as if he had actually physically struck her. Her mouth opened and closed like a gasping fish out of water and she stared unblinkingly. She willingly let Law slip out from under her. She stared.

"..." What exactly happened last night...?

He didn't reply, instead grabbing his hat from the bedside drawer and slipping it over his bedhead hair. She had a natural compulsion to grab a comb but ignored it to address the queasiness in the pit of her stomach.

"We didn't have sex, did we?" she said with a frown.

...

Law's eyes narrowed. "You vomited, Miss Pandora."

Pandora's brows furrowed in contemplation. "Why would I..."

It all came rushing back, like the pictures of an old movie. Her drinking for the first time. Him being an ass and carrying her like a sack of rice to the hotel to rest while she was babbling about freaking_fairytales _and comparing him to a damn prince. Her coming onto him and him stopping them. Her _crying _right in front of him after she-

"Ugh..." She clutched her stomach. "I feel nauseous." She wished she was the type of drunk to forget everything that happened to her.

He gestured to a door. "The bathroom's there."

Her head snapped up to narrow her eyes at him before another memory occurred at his words. She cringed.

"You saw me naked?" She remembered that too... He had managed to get her into the shower before she brushed her teeth.

"Yes," he told her bluntly. "It's nothing I haven't seen before."

"...When was the first time?"

"When you were injured by Bepo."

Pandora cleared her throat. Right. She had forgotten about that. "You shouldn't have heard that..." she trailed off. She hadn't thought about it because the Heart Pirates were very distracting, but now that they were getting closer and closer to her town, her thoughts had been plagued with memories of that town, the longest one she and her mom had stayed at. "I tend to get really emotional and have these really horrible mood swings when I drink." Her tone came out more defensive than she intended.

"I didn't mind," he finally said.

She was startled and it suddenly felt very awkward at the warm feeling in her chest.

"Not minding is not the equivalent of caring though."

She sighed heavily. "You just made my day, thanks." She swung her leg over him to get off him. She let out a surprised 'oomph' as he grabbed her wrist and flipped her so that she was under him.

She grit her teeth so that she wouldn't tremble. "What are you doing?"

Her teeth clacked noisily against each other when he lifted her leg. _Holy f—_

He was examining the burn marks, her foot pressed against his midsection as he leaned in closer. He was way too close. The realization of his proximity hit her like a pile of bricks when he let out an incomprehensible chuckle that, on reflex, she—

"Shit!" she yelped as her ankle was twisted in an unfavourable position. "Let go!"

He released her.

"It was reflex!" she growled defensively, referring to how she was about to kick him the stomach. She grimaced at the ache that was, thank goodness, fading away. "Did you have to do that?"

"Reflex," he explained mildly before sitting up. She glared at his response. "If you have such an abhorrence to those memories, then why don't you look into surgery? Skin grafting, perhaps..." He pinched the skin of her upper arm. It made her flinch self-consciously. She had more fat than muscle there.

Her mouth slanted. "If that was your inference of an offer, I refuse."

"That's unfortunate. I had wanted to perform it on my first live specimen." He grinned. "Live specimens are always more a challenge. Need to keep them, well, alive." He chuckled at his joke and Pandora just paled as she stared at him.

She wasn't sure if she should have been more appalled by 'first live' or being referred to as a specimen so she calmly went to the door to check if hotels as nice as these really did leave the papers at the door. She always read the newspaper in the morning and a little blip (like Law) wouldn't stop her.

"Yo," Shachi and Penguin said as she opened the door. Bepo was looking down at her curiously.

...

"Why... are you... trying to... close the door... Pandora?" Shachi struggled out as he tried to pry the door open along with Penguin. It was pure willpower that was making her stronger than two fully-grown men. Pandora dug the skin of her heels into the soft carpet as she tried to use her back to push close the door.

"Reflex," she said simply. Or she thought it was too weird for them to be coming into the hotel room. Take your pick. She watched Law ignore their antics and make his way to the bathroom. The distraction proved to be a mistake when they got two inches on her.

"Methinks the time for reflex is over," Penguin pointed out.

"I have the 'prolonged reflex' disease."

"Like hell you do!" they shouted in synchro.

Bepo believed her. "You should have the Captain take a look at that."

"Shut up, you stupid bear!"

Pandora put up a few more admirable seconds of their pushing war before one final heave-ho sent her stumbling forward and away from the door. Her eyes narrowed disapprovingly at the trio until something was thrust into her face.

"...The newspapers?" She examined them and noticed that the comics section looked like they had been read already. But nevermind that. Her eyes drifted to the three. Penguin had flopped on the bed.

"Captain!" Shachi called out shamelessly when the Hearts Captain came out, as if there _weren't _other guests in the hotel. "Your bounty raised again!"

"By how much?" Despite the lack of excitement in his tone, the man's eyes were smug.

"199 million...?" Pandora whispered to herself, not noticing that she had answered his question. Her eyes focused on the small blurb printed below his name and bounty and winced inwardly. They had made his supposed character sound as horrifying and gore-ish as ever.

"Knew you could do it, Captain!" Bepo was glowing with admiration.

"...There will be a meeting this evening right before we leave," Law said plaintively. He was dressed and held his nodachi in the crook of his shoulder. "Make sure everyone is at the docks by dusk."

"Yes, Captain!" They saluted seriously, keeping in mind to avoid the Marines form of greeting before rushing out.

"Eh? You're leaving, Captain?" Bepo questioned when Law walked past his first mate. "Where are you going?"

"To confer with Gale about our plans while we're travelling... _after _I gather some information."

Pandora frowned. That was another strange quirk of Law's, she had noticed. He went around to gather intel himself instead of relaying the task to one of his crew. And in turn, he spent hardly any time maintaining the actual logistics other than medical supplies. It was... weird. At least to her.

"Why don't you just give that job to someone and focus on logistics on more captain-like duties?" she asked, point-blank. There was a hint of disapproval in her tone that Law undoubtedly caught, because he turned to her with a deadpan expression.

"I've chosen two men who I believe to be appropriate for the job. I don't appreciate you undermining my judgement without thinking fully about the reasons for my decisions."

...

Well, two could play at that game.

Pandora put a hand to her mouth. "Oh my... _trust _wasn't one of the traits I would put on you as a pirate and..." She smiled sweetly. "As just you as a person."

Bepo looked between the two. Something was definitely going on here because he _swore _the temperature of the room dropped by five degrees. Or twenty. He briefly pondered what had gone on between the two to engage the frosty (even to him) air that was right now permeating the room.

"Pirates think quick," he finally said with a smirk as he opened the door. "You'd best remember that."

...

"Damn, he won," she muttered.

"Huh?"

"...Nothing, Bepo."

"Right," he nodded before remembering something. "I wanted to know how many more islands until we get to Sabaody." He waited awful patiently as she stared at him for a few moments before making her way to the bathroom.

"Pandora?"

She had her hand on the door when she turned slightly. Bepo noticed that Pandora's posture had worsened to a slouch before shrugging inwardly. He supposed that was what hotel beds did, no matter how plush they were.

"...Just one more island." She disappeared into the bathroom.

...

Pandora's back slid down against the door. She put a trembling hand to her chest. Her heart was still beating fast because of a certain man. Yet there were other emotions too, so many swirling around. Sadness and uneasiness because she was going back to her hometown and weakness and self-hatred for still not throwing away that contact number to the Marines. She had promised herself that she would never feel such strong feelings when her mom died... when she set out for the Grand Line... That she wouldn't get close to anyone ever again.

This wouldn't have happened if she hadn't met Law and the others.

"One more island," she whispered to no one.

One way or another, everything would end on Sabaody.


	17. Chapter 17

**Pick Your Poison**  
><strong>Chapter 17<strong>

**.**

**.**

**.**

"Sooo... we're sorry for ruining your birthday..." Penguin and Shachi said nervously. They neglected to mention the fact that they had walked in on her and the captain. Though in their defence, nothing out of the ordinary had been going on when they barged in. In retrospect, they should have realized she was with the Captain since they hadn't seen her back at the ship that night, but morning-after headaches tended to cloud logical thought. Bepo merely stood there, silently observing them.

Pandora stopped walking and regarded them with a serious expression. They responded by backing away... _slowly_. Just to prepare themselves in case she hit them over the heads, even _if _they deserved it. Which they totally didn't.

She made a step toward them. "That reminds me..." Her hand reached into her bag, lips pursed as she rifled through the things.

"Don't hurt us!" they yelled in stereo when her hand slowly came out.

"Cowards," Bepo remarked.

"Shut it, Bepo!"

"...Sorry."

"Here."

...

"Errm..." Shachi gently accepted the blue bracelet made out of string as if it was about to explode in his face as soon as he touched it. "Thanks..."

"Is this a couple's bracelet?" Penguin inquired suspiciously as he stared at the red bracelet. He was friends with Shachi, but they weren't _that _close.

Bepo stared at the fish-shaped charm in his hand. It said, "_May much fish and happiness" _come to you.

...okaaay.

"Don't be silly." Pandora shook her head. "There's things in this town that aren't couple-based. I found a bunch of neat souvenirs yesterday."

"...Did you just walk around?"

She turned to Penguin. "Pretty much."

"This is a town for couples and you didn't participate in any special events or anything with the Captain?" Shachi fiddled with the bracelet as he said this.

"No... I don't think that we're the type of couple to do that kind of stuff."

"What? Why not?" All three of them, even Bepo, looked disappointed.

Pandora frowned. "There was a tango contest at the centre of the town." She strategically paused for dramatic effect. "Now imagine Law and I in it."

"Ohh... ugh... ew..." Penguin tried to get rid of the mental image but couldn't quite do it. Imagining Pandora in it wasn't making him cringe, but just imagining his awesome, cool captain doing the tango...

It was just... weird.

Shachi nodded. "I see what you did there."

She returned his smile.

Bepo piped up, "I don't think there's anything wrong with it."

"'Course you wouldn't, dumb bear," Shachi muttered while Pandora looked at the first mate exasperatedly.

She tilted her head. Her hand twitched. "I'm fine." They opened their mouths, about to say something but then shut them. "Are you guys sure you should be loitering around here?"

Penguin rocked on the balls of his feet, nodding.

Shachi smiled. "We finished a while ago. Today is free time for everyone. Just gotta meet in front of the ship at dusk, and that's it for this island."

She nodded to them but inside she was bouncing up and down from the news. Not only did this place now hold bad memories of her and Law, but the whole atmosphere of the island was frankly tiring. She found people had really high tension here that she couldn't keep up with it. Going around buying things and talking with sellers had made her a little jittery. The mood was getting to her. And also...

She watched blankly as Penguin waved to a group of giggling girls.

...Unlike other islands, women here seemed to encourage advances to some extent by her crewmates. She coughed into her hand, diverting his attention back to her. It was embarrassing to watch simply because she was associated to all of them. She cringed.

And the pink was also getting to her.

"I'll be going now. Places to see, souvenirs to deliver." She pivoted on her heel, raring to deliver the rest of her gifts, but suddenly felt herself hit a wall. Or something like a wall anyway. Her eye fluttered as dust went into her eye. She saw a masked man wearing a long, flowing cape grinning down at her.

"Umm... Hi?"

By his grin, she could tell he would be another tiring experience for her on this damn island.

"Oho!" He chortled, making Pandora uneasy. She could already feel that this creep was going to be annoying. "Would you like to know what you are?" The man offered the same to her two companions.

"Sure." Shachi shrugged, though there was a grin on his face.

Penguin was practically bouncing on his feet. "If you're an Amoris fortune teller, you'll be able to tell me the next chick I score with, right?"

"Even I can tell you that the possibility of that is zero," Bepo butt in sagely.

_A fortune teller? _She thought as she ignored the sounds of shouting.

"And what about you, girl?" And while doing this, he was shamelessly raking his eyes over her body. A tic in her jaw wasn't the only way she wanted to react, but bit her tongue to prevent any insults from coming out.

"...It's fine." Pandora tried to moved around him, only to be stopped by an arm in front of her.

"Aha! I can see it now!" She spluttered indignantly when the masked man grabbed her chin. "The hard demeanour, that scowl and the fact that those two dunces-" Here, there was a simultaneous "HEY!" from the dunces. "-were quaking earlier may give the wrong impression, when in _fact_, you are definitely-"

She slapped his hand away, regaining her senses...

"An M!"

...only to lose them again. Her mouth dropped open.

"As are you two plus the bear," the man Pandora decided to dub, "The Weirdo" proclaimed to her crew mates.

"We are _not _M's!" Shachi said heatedly, acting offended enough for all of them.

"You mean you're not an Amoris fortune teller?" Penguin kicked the ground. "Aw, man."

"What's an M?" Bepo tilted his head.

"The WORLD is divided into two categories: sadists and masochists!" Weirdo announced loudly. He began pointing and gesturing wildly to things. "The ground is an M since it's always being stepped on. The sun is an S since it's currently making me very sweaty! That apple over there is an M since it tastes so good and sweet! That rotten fish is _definitely _an S since I can smell the horrendous fragrance from here!"

He swiftly dodged a rotten fish being lobbed at his head by a certain angry vendor who had heard his loud comment.

Bepo's nose wrinkled. Sure, fish was coming to him, but it was kind of rotten, wasn't it? He didn't want rotten fish and it certainly wasn't making him any happier either.

"Anyway," Weirdo ignored the two protesting men in jumpsuits. He laid a gloved hand to a shell-shocked Pandora's cheek. "Would you like to be the M to my S, m'dear?"

The masked man was promptly pushed away by Penguin and Shachi. They stood in front of Pandora like solid brick walls.

"You can't have her!"

Her eyes widened. They were defending her...

"Because..." Shachi nodded self-assuredly, sunglasses glinting in the sunlight. "She's with our Captain!"

"And you couldn't beat his sadistic-ness even if you _tried _and he _wasn't _trying," Penguin stated snidely. "He's enough of a sadist for Pandora's masochistic-ness anyway."

The Weirdo sniffed indignantly. "Excuse me, but you should know that I am confident in my S abilities."

Shachi grinned again, teeth showing. "Surgeon of Death, Trafalgar Law kind of confident?"

The man paled. "O-one of the Eleven Supernovas?"

Bepo's chest puffed out proudly. "That's our Captain!"

There was a long, drawn-out silence before the Weirdo bowed his head. He put a gloved hand to his chest and bowed graciously.

"I will admit that I cannot beat that." He stood up straight again, a bright smile on his face again. "Alas! I shall be going now, ohoho! Goodbye, my masochistic babies!"

A dramatic swish of his cape, and he disappeared down the streets.

Or at least that would have happened if Pandora hadn't grabbed the back of his cape, choking him in the process. He gagged unattractively as he fell on his back. Weirdo seemed a little dazed (as were her crewmates) as she stared down at him with a frown on her face.

"Do you think you're funny?" She began in a perfectly calm tone. "I know that this is lovey-dovey place full of lovey-dovey weirdos, but common etiquette says you shouldn't just go up to a group of people and start spouting off crap like how we are M's. You're making a baseless assumption that needs to be corrected by getting to know more about people from your initial impression." She took a breath, ignorant to how her crewmates, even Bepo, were slowly backing away from her. Weirdo was trying, but she had a good grip on the cape.

"Self-awareness would also tell you that you don't go up to a bunch of pirates and tell them they like pain, or else they could be the ones that are showing you pain." She said this all in a deadpan voice that made everyone who heard want to run for the hills.

Weirdo panicked and did the next logical thing to him: He tried to re-direct her anger.

"But your crewmates also claimed you are an M!" he struggled out through the lack of air. This situation was making him rethink his outfit with his cape.

Shachi and Penguin were making X signals with their arms.

"I know. But I'll deal with them in my own away," Pandora claimed. She ignored the gasps behind her. She let go of his cape. "You can go now."

Weirdo was out of there faster than a Cheetah zoan fruit user hyped up on caffeine.

"You okay, Pandora?" Shachi ventured.

Mimicking his action, Penguin laughed nervously. "Glad we got rid of him. But him calling you that explains a lot!"

They shied away when they saw that there was no smile of gratitude. Instead, a frosty glare that hid angry fire underneath had taken over.

Before either pirate could placate the young woman, Pandora marched right up to them and pulled their ears _harshly._ They both yelped loudly from the pain as they were forced to bend down or risk having their ears torn off.

"I am _not _a masochist!"

Bepo nodded to himself. Oh, so that's what M meant.

"Well, _I_ think you are, Pandora," he said over the whines of pain.

* * *

><p>"Thanks..." Liam squinted at the gift from Pandora in his hand. It was a shortsword. A nice one too. And most importantly, not a trace of pink anywhere. After seeing all the pink merchandise around town, he wouldn't have thought that there was nothing that <em>wasn't <em>pink in this town besides the food. And even some of the food was _tainted_with pink food colouring.

"Where did you find it in a place like _this_?"

Pandora stopped in her wincing to give teenager a small smile. Rene had just bear hugged her and bounded off with the new spatula she gave him. His old one had been rusting up and therefore _dirty_. It was good on everyone's part, including her mind's well-being, if he threw that old one away.

"From some small shop at the back alleys of the town," she replied. "It's amazing what you can find if you know where to look." She smiled languidly. "The pirate age has made sure that even in gross towns like this, there are weapons to kill."

...It was kind of scary how she had said that whole sentence with a smile on her face.

Liam looked once more and the _really _nice shortsword. It must have been expensive. It was a lot better than what he gotten her. He felt guilt stab at him. It didn't feel right to accept something like this. He told her just that.

"Hmm..." She tilted her head. "If I didn't want you to have it, I wouldn't have bought it for you. You should just take it, Liam."

He lifted his head, caught the earnest sentiment in her tone and sighed, despite the giddiness he now had of having his a weapon to call his own. "I'll accept it then. Thanks. I got something for you too."

Liam was in the shock of his young life when she practically floated back to him, rocking on her heels with a serene expression that was hiding the anticipation.

Something inside him wilted.

"Now, it isn't much," he warned frantically. He didn't want her hopes to get too high. "But I thought it would be practical to have this." With a dramatic flourish, he showcased the light green umbrella and waited with baited breath for the light in Pandora's eyes to flicker out like a snuffed candle.

There was no such thing.

She smiled warmly, giving him another big shock, as she took the umbrella. "I don't have an umbrella. Mine was on my boat," she said the second part almost wistfully before snapping out of her stupor.

He watched as she put a finger to the pointed end of the umbrella to inspect it. The _sharp _pointed end. He shrugged modestly, trying not to look like a peacock preening its feathers. "I heard from the guy who sells these that they can be used as a pseudo-sword. Thought it would be useful."

He squawked when he felt arms around him. Pandora was _hugging _him.

"Err..."

"It's the thought that counts."

Liam stiffened before his eyes turned to slits. What did she mean it was the thought that counts?

"You don't like it, do you?"

"I like it," she insisted with the own narrowing of her eyes. He could tell she was annoyed by him not believing her. "It suits you, Liam. Your gift. That's why I like it."

There was a small battle of wills via a small glaring contest between the pair. Liam was the first one to look away.

"Hey..." He frowned uncomfortably. "Is there something wrong?"

Pandora stared at him blankly. "What?"

He blushed. Must have been his imagination. "Ah... ah nothing! Rene has been overworking me so much and the kitchen's heat sure is getting to me for all of this to happen and all the babbling is from the heat getting to me since the stoves are always freaking on and I don't get any breaks..." He was ignorant to how his explanation was slowly turning into a long-winded rant. "...because some fat pig is bossing me around the-eck!"

Rene had re-entered the kitchen, humming loudly. And off-tune. And to Liam's gratefulness, ignorant to how he had just been called a fat pig.

"The Captain sez we shall be setting sail now!" The door shut behind him. He grinned a big shit eating grin that made Liam very, very uncomfortable. "I think it is the time for another group hug, non?"

"No..." Pandora shivered uneasily at him coming. Liam saw her twitch and wondered if the idea of hugging Rene was making her bruises throb. He took one step back and tried to become one with the wall and slide through the doors Rene effectively caught him by the scruff of his collar.

"Let me down right now, you fat bastard!"

The Heart Pirates chef ignored his assistant's loud yappering and faced Pandora with determination.

Rene's eyes glinted a little evilly as he directed his reply to Pandora."Oui."

* * *

><p>"I am <em>not <em>a masochist."

Gale sighed wearily. He squeezed his hands into his fists around the wheel. The gloves that Pandora got for him were a little tight from the newness, but he couldn't bring himself to complain about that. They _were _pretty nice gloves. He rather liked them. They would wear down to a comfortable fit with time.

"I think you are, girlie."

He felt something like laser beams piercing into the back of his head as he heard Pandora stop her pacing. He huffed. Like he would be intimidated with that. Some of the younger crew members (ex. Shachi and Penguin) were afraid of her glaring, but not him. It was more funny than anything whenever she tried to intimidate him. Not that she had tried it much, but still...

"I'm not," she insisted.

"Uh-huh," he muttered indulgently as he focused on his job.

"You don't believe me, do you?"

"Nope." He squinted into the waters. "I kind of agree with that masked freak. There has to be a little masochist or sadist in everyone, per say. It's human nature for people to dominate or be submissive. The Captain is definitely the first one, so by process of elimination, you must be the submissive one." That didn't mean that she was one of those sick bastards that liked whips, chains and all those lovely things or that she was a pushover. But, putting her relationship with the captain on completely primitive terms, that's how it was.

...

_Oh god_, Gale moaned inwardly. _Why am I even thinking about this bloody shit? _Talking to Pandora made everything in his head and outside of it just plain awkward.

"You phrased it better than that guy..." Pandora finally admitted, not realizing Gale's inner turmoil and horror at his own thought process. She looked at the sea wistfully. "I regret not hurting him and letting him escape."

Gale didn't say anything, quickly catching on that the best solution to how he didn't know how to reply was not to reply at all.

There was a peaceful silence between them.

"...But that doesn't mean I am," she added.

"Okay," he said absentmindedly.

"I am _not_."

Here we go again.

* * *

><p>He found her on the deck of the ship alone. That was to be expected since it was only a few hours to sunrise. She was training again.<p>

He made his steps louder.

Pandora heard the footsteps. She already knew who it was. The only other person to be up this late (or early depending on how you looked at it) was him. They had left Amoris hours ago and she had been ecstatic. So ecstatic that she couldn't sleep. The blade in her shrank in size until she could clip it back onto the chain around her neck. She was wiping the sweat off her hands on the sweat pants she was wearing when she finally turned around.

"You should be sleeping," was all she said to break the silence. She tilted her head back until the loose strands of hair fell away from her face. "It's... early."

He chuckled, a sound that caressed her ears and sent shivers down her spine, but not from fear.

"The same could be said for you," he replied. "There's only a few hours left until we reach shore."

"..." He didn't need to remind her. She already knew that. She was the one who had told _him _that and he obviously knew that, so...

"Why are you up here?"

"Take a guess."

"I don't want to take a guess," she responded, mildly irked by his response. "If I wanted to guess, I wouldn't have asked." She said this coldly and turned away from him. She grabbed the towel hanging on the railing and wiped her face. She was feeling incredibly self-conscious about her appearance, being as sweaty and gross as she was. In front of any of the Heart Pirates, she wouldn't have felt this way but... This was Law.

Against her will, she felt her cheeks redden even more. She hoped he would account it to the strenuous activities she had partaken in just minutes before.

"Why are you acting like such a moody brat?"

Her eyes narrowed. "Excuse me-"

He interrupted, looking displeased. "Are you that afraid that I've found out this secret of yours?"

Her cheeks had gotten redder, if that was even possible. "Well, sorry for not wanting to share stuff I don't want to share with a total stranger!" she blurted out before clapping her hands over her mouth. Shit. She hadn't meant to say that.

If Law was offended, he didn't show it. Instead, he had begun circling around her, his gaze trailing over her analytically and coldly. She stiffened, but turned her head so that she was able to see him. She wasn't going to back down.

"You weren't saying that the night before."

Pandora opened her mouth, but no words came out. He was... unbelievably cruel. Embarrassing her and reminding her all with one sentence. He didn't wait for her response -she didn't know if she would have responded- and headed to the door that led to the bowels of the sub. How could he say that when _he _was in the wrong?

..._He _was the one who was wrong.

...

"Stupid..." she growled, but didn't know if she was directing it at him or her as she made her way towards his retreating form. She grabbed the back of his hood and pulled. He didn't lean back in surprise at the use of sudden force, but he didn't move anymore and that was good enough for her.

She sighed exasperatedly. "Why am I always apologizing to you?" she asked but not expecting an answer.

"Maybe because you're always in the wrong," he suggested. He had turned back to face her scowl with a smirk. She couldn't help it when her scowl melted away. She pulled him closer, uncaring if he could smell her body odour. She pursed her lips determinedly.

"One day I'm going to make you apologize to me," she declared heatedly. His eyes widened slightly. That was the last thing she saw of his reaction before she pulled him down to kiss him hard. Her hands snaked up to the back of his head and sighed contentedly when she felt his coarse sea-damaged hair underneath her fingertips. It felt nice and real and _just like_ _Law_.

She kissed him, all passion and very little skill and he let her do whatever she wanted with the kiss and she was grateful. Very grateful. His hands had trailed down to rest on her bare hips. Her shirt had ridden up to reveal her stomach while her pants were hanging off her hips. She felt her chest push against his and felt a jolt of something tingly that went right down to her _core_. The feeling was beginning to become familiar.

She didn't know whether to be afraid or not.

Pandora only released him when she could feel herself running out of precious oxygen. They were both panting. She stepped back and slowly rested the back of her knuckles to her cheek.

It felt very, very hot.

"O...Okay?" she managed to breath out.

She noticed Law's cheeks were a little red from the lack of oxygen and resisted the urge to rest the palm of her hand to his skin and feel the warmth.

He didn't answer.

"Okay?" she asked again. She let out an out-of-place giggle that was built from nervousness rather than finding anything funny. All the staring was unnerving her, which in turn made her giggle a little more.

He cocked an eyebrow. "Are you nervous about going back to your hometown?"

_Not exactly._

She shrugged uneasily. Her giggling had thankfully stopped. "It's not exactly my hometown," she hedged. "It's just the place where I stayed the longest, so for propriety's sake, we'll call it my hometown." She leaned forward, towards him. "What's the name of the island you were born in? Your town?"

He leaned away from her against the railing, which made her a little offended. Did she really smell that bad? "Like you, I don't have anywhere I would call my 'hometown'."

Pandora frowned. "That's sad." She considered that place her hometown, despite not being born there. She didn't even know where she was born. She had been moving around so much when she was little that she wouldn't be surprised that her mother and her had moved out of her "birth town" as soon as she came into this world. She didn't really remember much about those places before she settled. Maybe because she had been too young to remember. Even the start of her arrival to her hometown was fuzzy around the edges...

He stared at her. "You pity me."

Pandora half-grimaced half-smiled. It was an odd look. She really shouldn't have said that. Denying she didn't pity him would be lying. Law was also a proud man, so she doubted agreeing with him would be any better. Huh. What would be the appropriate course of action so that she wouldn't piss him off? It took her a moment, but she decided with the truth.

"Yeah. In regards to that, I do." Pandora yawned. It was late. "But it's not like other parts of you are pitiable." She looked at him nervously. He didn't seem angry, which was a good sign. He wasn't looking at her. Instead, his eyes were focused on the sea and beyond that. Her own eyes widened before they tightened as if taking a mental picture of the scene. She thought she could see it then, the strength Law had that would help him succeed in his dreams. She swallowed hard the lump in her throat. She blew a stream of air through her mouth and absentmindedly kicked the deck.

"I wished I had lived somewhere cold instead," she suddenly said to Law, who was still leaning against the railing. She got no verbal reply, only a glance in her direction. "Because... I like the snow." She was disappointed they they hadn't encountered any winter islands. Her hometown's island was the last island before they reached the Grand Line, and it was a boring spring island.

"Anyway," She shook her head to clear her head. "I wanted to ask you how it was. Living in perpetual winter? You may not know your hometown, but you should know that North Blue is where you're from."

She felt before she saw him place a hand against her cheek. She suddenly felt self-conscious, aware that strands of hair were sticking to her cheek due to the sweat from earlier. If she knew him better, she wouldn't have felt self-conscious. If he was her mom, she wouldn't care. But, the thing was, she didn't know him and he certainly wasn't her mom. Still, she held her breath when he leaned in close, until their noses were touching. That moment lasted for a long while for her and would certainly come up in her future memories. She stiffened when she felt him bypass her in such a way that his lips brushed against her cheek and landed on her ear. The sensation was not unpleasant but made her chest hurt. She tried to shy away but felt his hand on her cheek make sure she was rendered immobile. Then he whispered something so quiet that she couldn't hear him.

"W-wait," she stammered. She grabbed onto his hoodie, so that he wouldn't move away. "What did you just-ack!" The hand that had grabbed his hoodie pushed him away. She put a hand to her ear protectively. Pandora was torn between whether she should be feeling grossed out or not. He smirked at her and she knew her answer then.

Dammit.

He was moving away and going back into the submarine. He left her in a daze. Pandora shut her eyes tightly before opening them again.

Strange...

_Stupid, confusing Law... _Pandora thought wearily as she got up to follow his lead. Talking to him had helped though. She felt tired enough to actually fall asleep now. If she was lucky and fell asleep right away, she could get in two hours before getting up to help Rene.

He hadn't even turned around even once to look at her.

Pandora clasped her hands together and folded them over her stomach. Her scars were itching uncomfortably, but she knew it was all in head, so she stopped herself from scratching. The sound of the pipes above her head rumbling from constant use and the metallic screech of the door behind her were magnified. The sounds were so loud around her that she couldn't hear a distinguishable thing.

She took a shuddering breath and walked to her room, her shoulders set and her eyes hard with resolve.

* * *

><p>"Change of plans, Uncle."<p>

"Ohh? What's that now, Sentomaru?"

The captain of the Science Unit's perpetual frown deepened as he regarded the admiral, who was out of it once again. Kizaru was in charge of the operation and frankly, he hadn't done anything except laze around. It irritated Sentomaru. He had had to take care of everything because of the his inaction.

"Uncle, you really should be doing something other than just sitting there doing nothing." Even Aokiji was doing more by handling the Nico Robin case. That was saying a lot for a guy who wore a sleeping mask on his forehead most of the time.

Kizaru waved a hand. "Weell, I'm only in charge in name. And the only reason we're even doing this is because of Vegapunk."

Sentomaru's squinty eyes narrowed. His boss, Dr. Vegapunk, had been furious when he had found out that one of his prototype submarines had been stolen. Needless to say, he had ordered his personal bodyguard to retrieve the submarine and why not catch Trafalgar Law while he was at it? But catching the Surgeon of Death had to include Marine involvement. Even though Trafalgar Law had a bounty of almost 200 million, that alone wouldn't have warranted Kizaru to come to help. But, Vegapunk had been adamant about an admiral being involved to ensure that the pirate would be captured.

It was that, or have Vegapunk stop his progress on all his inventions.

The Marines had rushed to get an admiral after Vegapunk's threat and Kizaru surprisingly happened to be the least busy out of all three. Usually, it was Aokiji.

"But you're still supposed to be helping me with that stupid rookie!" Sentomaru retorted harshly. "I'm only supposed to only be in charge of retrieving Vegapunk's invention!"

"Riiight," Kizaru conceded. "But you're doing a good job handling both."

...

There was no point in shouting at this guy.

Still, Sentomaru was a little cheesed.

"I'm not telling you the change of plans then, Uncle." Sentomaru's glare became more frigid. "Figure it out yourself."

Kizaru nodded amicably. "Okaay then."

...

"You read in the report from CP9 how we're planning to use Maxwell Pandora to help capture Trafalgar Law, right?"

Kizaru's mouth morphed into an 'o'. "Ohh, yes. The daughter of that CP agent that defected."

"Yeah, that one." Sentomaru began pacing. "Normally, we would have captured her because of her mother's betrayal or just continued to ignore her, but we struck a deal with her. We were fully expecting her to agree too, but she hasn't. At least, not yet." He sighed. "Why can't the world be filled with more agreeable people?"

"Are you going somewhere with this, Sentomaru?"

"I was getting to it, Uncle! I'm only telling you all this because I want to, all right?" the younger man snapped back. "Anyway, there's been a change of plans. Whether she agrees or not, we'll still be able to capture them all, Maxwell and Trafalgar and his crew, if we play our cards right. And..."

Sentomaru stopped pacing to face the absentminded admiral seriously.

"Whether she agrees or not to help us, we'll still be arresting all of them, including Maxwell Pandora. We won't put up posters of her though. That'd definitely clue her in that something isn't right."

"Sooo, you're saying we're going to lie, even if she agrees to our plan? No immunity?"

"Yeah," the broad-axe user agreed. "Because just recently, CP9 discovered something that connects her to Gol D. Roger."

Kizaru raised an eyebrow, looking mildly interested in the conversation now. "Oh? And what would that be?"

Sentomaru's brows furrowed. "There's bad blood all around that family. It's imperative that she be arrested as soon as they get to Sabaody."


	18. Chapter 18

**Edit (July 29, 2013): **Read the note at the bottom for details. (:

A/N: Thank you to writrgrl, Blobfishington, Piacine, Derp, sugar-run, arsonphobic, kaaayyyttee, Sesshylover978, NellyPixit, ShaDow EmpIre, fpen3 and SucreTeen123for the reviews!

The chapter's last part is rated **M**. Those who don't want to read that part, please exercise caution.

* * *

><p><strong>Pick Your Poison<br>Chapter 18**

Penguin was grinning from ear to ear as he saw something in sight.

"LAND HO!" he cried out excitedly. "The last island before we get to Sabaody is finally here, guys."

"Yes. I know," Gale said tersely. "I have eyes. Every idiot who intruded in _my_ control room has eyes." Having been mostly alone during their travels, he had a possessive nature regarding the room that some of the crew was in right now. Pandora and the captain were all right, but Shachi, Penguin and Bepo could go and jump into the ocean and never come back for all he cared.

The younger man looked a little miffed. He turned away from Shachi to glare at the back of Gale's head. Gale felt it, ignored it and then yawned in a purposeful way that made Penguin want to jump at him and give him a punch. Which he would have done if not for Shachi holding him back.

"You seem really angry that Gale got the last word, Penguin," Bepo said. "Even though someone else getting the last word in isn't out of the ordinary. You'd think you would be used to it by now."

Gale ignored the sounds of fighting in the background. The captain was also here, so he could mediate between the three if things got too out of hand. The thing was that the captain didn't seem all too interested in mediating anything. His eyes were lazily on the island they were approaching. It would have looked like he was completely focused on their destination if not for the cloudiness over his eyes. As for Pandora, she was sitting by Gale's side. She was on the edge of the seat, hands clasped in her lap as she stared dead ahead. They were above the surface, so the only thing she could have been staring at was the island; her hometown.

"You're sweating like a pig," Gale said blankly to Pandora. She was on the edge of the seat beside him that he had told her _not_ to sit on. He 'hmphed' when she didn't answer. He realized that may have come out a little rude so he added in a, "No offence." Conversing with Pandora had opened his unwilling eyes to the fact that it may be better not to be as crass as he was.

Pandora put her hand to her slightly damp forehead. "I seem to be sweaty when I'm talking to people lately..." She gave him something that didn't look like a smile. "I'll take a bath later then..."

"You should stop sweating."

She shrugged. "I'll keep that in mind."

XXX

"Where's Pandora?" Bepo bleated out like a fluffy sheep, except he was more bear-ish and less sheep-ish than a sheep. His crew mates, Penguin and Shachi, rotated very slowly. Light bulbs seemed to light up above their heads as they looked around and realized that there was indeed no Pandora with them.

Shachi scratched his head. "She was here just a while ago."

"At least up until we got off the ship," Penguin added.

"And now Pandora isn't here at all." Bepo scanned the crowds for any signs of red anywhere, but even his superior vision couldn't find a hint of her anywhere. The lack of result wasn't too great on his already low self-esteem. A light bulb suddenly appeared over the bear's head.

"Oh yeah!"

"What?" Penguin asked.

"She said she was going back to her house." There was a pause as he thought. "The Captain followed after her."

Shachi rubbed his chin in a way that indicated that he didn't really care now that he was aware that Pandora was in good hands. "I see, I see..." He sighed. "We should probably work on getting some information on the New World, since this is the last island before Sabaody and all. We're going to have to rethink what supplies we should get, especially some of the doctor stuff the Captain told us to get." While he said all this, he made no move to do so and get them moving.

"...Probably." Penguin shifted on his feet a little. "We probably should." He didn't make a move to get them moving either.

Bepo blinked. "You guys are going to go to a bar, aren't you?"

"W-well!" Penguin started defensively. "We're tired! This last trip was one of the hardest ones since we're getting so close to the Red Line, it would be more dangerous so that's why we had to work harder and that's why we're tired." Then he paused when he realized he was going in circles before adding, "Stupid bear!"

Said animal reared back as if he had been slapped before a familiar cloud appeared over his head. "I'm... I'm sorry."

Shachi was already searching for the nearest bar.

It was a short walk for Pandora from the well-maintained port of the island to her house. Her house was in the middle of a field while the town was a half an hour walk from the port. There were a few that had volunteered to come with her but she had insisted that they not. Going back to her house was the kind of thing she thought would be better to do alone.

She had her hand on the doorknob for about two minutes.

_Ugh... This is a lot harder than I thought. _She was feeling a little apprehensive going into her home that she hadn't been in for five years. Especially when she had promised that she wouldn't come here until she found her father and forcibly dragged him back.

_Breaking my promise... _Pandora thought flatly. _This has been turning into a trend. _She wished... she wished she was a little more hardier than she had been when she was younger. It looked like nothing had changed all these years. How depressing to have to find out something about herself from being with Law and the others. If she hadn't met them, she wouldn't be feeling like her old angst-ridden self.

Or self describing her as angst-riddren...

"You're not going to go in?"

It was Law, one hand half tucked into his pocket while the other held his nodachi. He was watching her with an emotionless gaze. She let go of the door knob as if it was a metal of a hot iron and hoped he hadn't been there for the _entire_ time she had been thinking.

She frowned. "Why are you here?" When he didn't answer, she realized he was going to say anything until she answered his previous question. She bit her lip, but immediately stopped when she saw Law watching the movement. She answered plainly. "It's hard coming back after so long."

"...Let's go in," he announced, making his way past her and opening the door. She had unlocked it beforehand.

...Pandora forcibly shut her mouth that had been hanging open. She shook her head and put a hand on his sleeve. He turned back.

"I told everyone I wanted to come alone," she tried saying calmly. This was supposed to be alone time, not Pandora plus Law time. She hadn't wanted anyone here. She hadn't wanted anyone here at all.

"You didn't," Law said, a hint of accusation that made her let go of his sleeve in shock. She blinked. Right. She hadn't told him, but in her defence he hadn't asked. He was acting... kind of immature. At least to her. She could tell from the slight change of tone and the flash in his eyes. She felt like laughing all of a sudden at the situation even though it wasn't particularly funny.

...He was going _in._

"Breaking and entering," she flatly said, snapping out of her gaping. She tried to grab onto his hood, but he must have sensed it because he dodged it all without breaking his pace. She felt like growling. "You're breaking and enter—" Pandora was startled when she saw Law making his way for her room, with a name plate that said her name on the door. There was a second's hesitation before she followed after the man.

"You're not wasting anytime with invading my privacy, are you?" she remarked after bumping into his shoulder. She rubbed her nose. "Why are you even here? I thought you would have gone to town instead of coming here." She would like to think that she didn't know he was following her because she had been in a daze and not because of her own incompetence.

"...Do you want me to leave?"

"Yes." There was no hesitation in her flat response.

He turned back to stare at her blankly before smirking. "Sure."

Or maybe there had been more hesitation than she thought...

"I do..." she insisted, albeit a little weakly.

Law ignored her, but he did pause for a second when he cracked open the door. She pursed her lips, but decided not to act and gave him silent permission. Neither said a word to each other. There wasn't anything to say. She scrutinized her room from behind Law. It was the exact same way she left it, except for a new layer of dust that made her nose itch. It was fairly plain. The only indication that a young girl had lived here was a teddy bear on the bed with a pink bow around its neck. Something her often absent father gave to her. It showed how much he loved her and how much he didn't know her. She didn't even like pink.

"Law..." Pandora said when she saw he had pulled a picture frame from the desk at the corner. It was a picture of her and her mom. Her mother rarely smiled. Hers was a kind of happiness that radiated from her self instead of seen on her face. Pandora had minded when she was really young, mostly due to the kids that bothered her about her mom being creepy because she never showed her emotions on her face. It took the young girl a while to realize it as a good thing. It made her feel special knowing that she was one of the few people that knew when the woman was happy or not. On the other hand, even with her being able to see her mom's feelings, there was still the fact that even _she _found her mom hard to read at times.

But... she looked a little longingly at the photograph. She remembered that day sorth of. Because it was a spring island, the background that consisted of the flowers in the field outside their house looked nice. It was the only photograph of her mom grinning, full-blown _grinning_. She was lifting her, a young Pandora, as they both smiled at the photographer, faces pressed cheek-to-cheek. The person who took the photograph-

The way Law was closely examining made her nervous and before she knew it, she had walked up to him and snatched the frame from his hand in a reaction born from self-consciousness.

Law's only reaction was raising an eyebrow.

His reaction made her shove the picture frame back into his hands. He slipped it into her bag hanging off her shoulder.

"...Thanks," she said lamely. She hadn't thought to keep it, but it was a good idea on his part.

"You look like her," he noted.

That was nice of him to say.

She turned around to make sure he was following her before exiting the room. Same old kitchen, same old living area... _It's nice. _She couldn't help thinking that, because in this house were _good _memories. Well, mostly. She tried not to think about it. Those last few months leading up to her mom's death and then the aftermath. She breathed through her nose, in and out, in and out. Just focus on breathing and that would be good enough.

Pandora checked her mental calendar. Three more days. Plenty of time.

"Who was your mother?"

She turned to him, looking blank. "What do you mean?"

"What do you think I mean?" He wasn't buying her ignorant act.

Her mouth slanted. She sighed. Had he known she'd been hiding something about her mom all this time? How long? Now Pandora knew why he came. It was probably to question her away from the crew. She clenched her hands into fists, thoughts lingering on the repercussions of what she was about to say next. She would be vulnerable while he would be completely justified in...getting rid of her. But if he didn't get rid of her, then that would be more than enough to justify what she would do later.

"She worked for the World Government." She stared at him, daring him to say something. He didn't. She lowered her gaze first. She had just revealed something to him that would undoubtedly affect her relationship with him and the crew, but at this point she wasn't sure how it would affect their relationship. "She was also my role model, the one who made me happy and just... my mom."

The heavy anxiety that she'd been carrying for a while was lighter, if only a little. Though it was quickly being replaced with a new anxiety borne from her thinking up ideas of how he would handle the situation. Though she was anxious, she wasn't regretting her confession to him. She noted his movements. The barely heard intake of his breath before he spoke. It was terrifying. It was gratifying.

"I know."

_What... what...?_

She stared at him, mouth dropped from shock. "Wait...wait a minute..." Her eye twitched. She had to clarify. "What did you already know?" She struggled to walk towards him, but her shock was paralysing. She was desperate to understand what she had just heard. He didn't answer her, both of them already knowing the answer to her question. She bit her lip. "How did you know?" she demanded.

He wasn't smiling. "Why don't you guess?"

"I don't want to guess!" Her thoughts were erratic, or else she may have actually guessed right. She looked at him and realized that he was deriving amusement from her spazzing. She scowled, angry at him and herself. She forced her breaths to calm and her fists to unfurl. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before meeting his gaze evenly.

"But even if you do guess right, there's no point in asking me," he continued. "What I reveal from now on will be of my own volition."

He had to be kidding her.

"Then why did you bait me? Now I'm curious." She gasped when he grabbed her chin harshly. She winced and he relented, so it didn't hurt anymore.

"You could say I'm, as some of my men would say, pissed off that you hid something like that from me." He smiled and she was impressed that she didn't quail under the utter fright his expression gave her.

"...Sorry?" she ventured before flinching when his glare turned colder. If she had been a spectator to this display, then she would have been grateful that he wasn't slowly torturing her, as his personality would normally dictate. Then she would probably question _why _he wasn't torturing her to match his personality. But as it was, she was presently terrified at his current reaction.

He chuckled at _her _reaction. His hand moved to caress her cheek, red hair trapping itself under his palm. She shivered and he paused.

He observed, "You seem to be afraid of me again, but rest assured..." His thumb on her lips, pressing into the soft, fragile flesh. She exhaled and his eyes darkened. "I don't intend to do anything to you in your current position unless you do something irrevocable." He released her and she sighed in relief.

"What do you mean?" She backed away to a more comfortable distance.

"Don't do anything you'll regret," he amended.

...

Was he still mad?

"What?" He didn't bother to convey his question eloquently. If she had bothered, she would have noticed he also hadn't referred to her as, 'Miss Pandora' in their entire encounter.

Pandora didn't smile nor frown. "You have reason to be mad, but..." Her eyes showed disapproval. She wasn't scared anymore. At least not as afraid as she had been moments ago, because for some reason she was taking his promise to her at face value. That meant, for now, she was safe. "...threatening me wasn't the best way to handle things." Was she sounding naggy? Judging from Law's expression, she decided that she was. It wasn't without reason though.

"Do it anymore and I may just break up with you," she clarified. There. This was the first time she had affirmed their relationship. It wasn't much, but it was a start. She gave him a half smile.

He was the first one to break their staring contest. She felt like hugging him then, but that would have meant a couple of different things and she was too tired to explain herself.

Pandora coughed into her hand. "The picture was taken by a family friend. He still lives in this town." Her tone took on a regrettable tone. "I forgot about him until I saw that picture, even though he was one of the few people I had conversations with when I was younger." _Or what a conversation a little kid with an elder can have..._

He smirked. "Your focus on fulfilling your mother's wish is admirable, if not a little peculiar," he said casually.

"What are you-" She narrowed her eyes. "I do _not _have a mom complex."

He ignored her exclamation. "...I'm going ahead to do something," he said vaguely. He had propped up his nodachi by the door and scooped it up as if it weighed nothing at all. Pretty impressive, especially when she had had a hard time lifting up the over-sized weapon.

...Not that she had tried while he had left it alone in his room. Of course _not_.

"I'll go with-"

He cut in, "Alone."

Pandora frowned. It felt uneasy and incredibly disquieting now, like being surrounded by the ocean's dark waters that threatened to pull a helpless devil fruit user below its depths. The tone of his voice, the guarded expression... If she didn't know any better -of how Law wouldn't be the type to do anything without reason- she would be thinking that he was going to kill someone now.

"Miss Pandora," He stepped back from the door just in time for it to slam open. She gaped at the force of it. The old hinges nearly flew off the frame! Law inclined his head at her. "There's someone at the door."

She stepped towards him, scowling. He was trying to change the subject! "Tell me what you're going to do!" _You enigmatic asshole._

"PANDORAA!" the voice was gruff, breathless and came from the person who nearly broke her door.

She knew that bellow.

"...Claus."

The old man quickly hobbled to her and in no time left, Pandora found herself enveloped in bony arms trying to squeeze the life out of her. She overcame the initial shock and tentatively put her arms around her mom's old friend, but was wrenched away by the shoulders as Claus pulled her away from him to scrutinize her with squinted eyes. He seemed satisfied enough when he finished his assessment with a firm pat to her cheek.

"Haven't seen you for a bit, Pandora. You've grown."

Pandora tried to get rid of the incredulity that was definitely on her face. "It _has _been more or less five years."

Claus clucked his tongue before slapping both her cheeks between his rough hands.

_Ow..._ she thought, wincing. She wanted to rub her sore cheeks, but the elderly man currently had them captive as he glared at her. Are_ all old people this strong?_

"Don't give me any lip, young lady," he warned sternly. "And what's with those dark circles around your eyes? You look like a woman woken up from the dead."

She protested, feeling very much like a young petulant teenager again, "But I wasn't- -"

Pandora was cut off by a harsh pinch to her cheeks.

"All right, all right," she said. Pandora brought her hands up slowly and began rubbing the reddened skin as she looked to Claus warily. He was darting around the place with impressive speed. She absentmindedly followed his movements with bemusement. Even time and old age hadn't stopped the active Claus she had known throughout her childhood. It was really nostalgic- -

_Shit._

Pandora whipped around to find Claus sitting on the table. She made a note to herself to ask him whether or not he had had some kind of stealth training in his earlier years. It wouldn't surprise her seeing as how he always had his time busy with some hobby or town affairs. The old man raised a bushy white eyebrow.

"Something the matter, Pandora?"

"D-did you happen to see a guy in here with me?" Ahh, don't tell her that Law, with such a murderous look on his face, had...

Claus's eyes gained a mischievous gleam, but shrugged soon after.

"If you're talking about that young man, he left while I had been hugging you."

_Double shit._

* * *

><p>Bepo hated alcohol.<p>

This was understandable since he _was _a polar bear. A very fine one, at that, but that was a story for another day. Sure, he could walk and talk like a human, but at the very end of the day, he was a bear. This fact was further cemented in his mind by how the first and last time he had alcohol, he ended up waking up in the medical bay with his stomach pumped and a none-too-pleased captain hovering over him. He had learned one thing from that experience.

Bears and alcohol do not mix.

Even humans and alcohol didn't seem to mix. Shachi and Penguin were responsible enough that they wouldn't get drunk now (though he would _never _admit that to them), but that didn't seem to apply to the man in the corner of the bar, obviously drunk, crying to his worried friend about how his girlfriend had broken up with him. It seemed all very interesting to him. The woman had seemed to have found a better male to date and the drunk man obviously wasn't taking it well judging from the bottles littering the table.

It had been initially interesting, but now it was getting boring. And more pitiful with each passing second.

So when he saw his captain passing the bar he was in, Bepo not-so-discreetly announced to Penguin and Shachi that he was leaving to get some fresh evening air.

"Captain! What are you doing?" Bepo cocked his head at the man. His nose twitched. The captain had just come from Pandora's house, he could smell. With a deadly yet calm aura around him. He also found it strange that the captain would be out and about with his nodachi. The only possible reason Bepo could think of was that there were Marines nearby. The man paused and glanced back.

"Torture," he said plainly.

"Oh..." Bepo nodded. "Can I come with you?"

A shrug.

"Do as you like."

"Okay." And Bepo promptly followed after his captain in the direction of a very large house.

* * *

><p>"...and that's how I got here and became sort of an informant of sorts to the Heart Pirates."<p>

Pandora's throat felt sore. She grasped it lightly. She needed a glass of water and would have gotten some if she wasn't suspicious of the water. It seemed sketchy to grab a drink from a sink that hadn't been used in a few years.

Claus didn't say outright that she had only mentioned her experience with the Heart Pirates and neglected to talk about the _years _before meeting them. He smirked. How interesting. What was even more interesting was that, while she didn't stammer or blush while talking about the captain, she did pause carefully before proceeding to talk about him. He kept in mind to possibly ask more about those two topics after he finished.

"Did you find anything about Sasha?"

She nodded. He gave her an encouraging look, but she just shook her head. He sighed. The look on her face told him she wouldn't be telling him no matter how much prodding he did.

"I need you... to do me a favour," she hesitated. There was that considerable pause that pushed him to almost ask again. He knew it wouldn't work though, since there was also a kind of calm determination that he would have never seen when Pandora was younger. He smiled.

"It must be something concerning those precious nakama of yours, am I right?"

Pandora stiffened and Clause felt like he guessed correctly. There didn't seem to be anything substantial that would have resulted in the determination he saw now. At least from what she had been talking about of her travels... which seemed to only consist of her short time with the pirates.

"...Family is precious too." She said this so quietly that Claus had to strain his ears to hear what she said. He frowned as the gears in his wizened mind began to turn.

"...Oh, Pandora."

The young woman turned to look at him.

"This is also goodbye, Claus." She smiled brightly and spoke the farewell she always said to Claus as a child.

"Bye bye."

* * *

><p>"Captain," Bepo stopped walking up the cobblestone pathway and glanced behind him to the unconscious guards. "I was just wondering what we're doing here."<p>

"This looks like a noble's house," Law observed. He smirked widely, showing teeth. "I wouldn't be in my right mind if I didn't take this chance to wreak a little bit of havoc, right?"

Bepo frowned. Actually, knowing the captain as long as he did, the bear would think that jumping headfirst into a situation like this would _not _be very characteristic of the man. Therefore, he would think that the captain _wasn't _in his right mind. He didn't say a word though, because even Bepo knew that this was a time to put his paw in his mouth.

"You seem angry, Captain," Bepo ventured almost shyly. 'Shy' was a strange word for Bepo, who was normally blunt to the point of regretting his actions and words soon afterwards.

"I'm not," the man responded dryly. His smirk widened to a grin when a blond man with two gruff bodyguards came tumbling out past the panicking servants and maids.

The furious man pointed a rude finger to Law and Bepo. "You _bastard! _What the hell do you think you're doing barging into here like this?"

Bepo disagreed. "I think you're lying, Captain." He watched warily as the two large men sandwiching the annoying blond male stepped forward.

Law sighed and shrugged carelessly. He mimicked their actions, stepping out. His nodachi clicked as he unsheathed it. He held it in front of him.

"Maybe just a little," he admitted before whispering _**"Room". **_

The familiar blue dome expanded and covered everyone in the courtyard and beyond. The servants began screaming in confusion and panic over what was happening. He felt the calm and trusting presence of his first mate behind him. His concentration narrowed and a familiar hand gesture sent him, Bepo and the other three to a location a good hour from the town.

The trio seemed disoriented and confused by the change in surroundings. Bepo observed his captain worriedly. The captain looked normal, but Bepo could see his shoulders shaking as the man attempted to calm his breathing. He knew of the captain's ability to teleportation and knew this particular technique drained a great deal of his stamina. They had also travelled far from what he could tell. They were in a field and Bepo could _see _the town from where they were; a dot on the horizon. The sole reason he could see the town was that it was flat land from where they were to civilization.

He frowned, thoroughly confused by now about several things.

"HEY!" By this time, the men has gotten their wits about them. "Why did you take us here, devil fruit bastard?" The man, who Bepo presumed was the leader, was pointing at Law angrily.

A low grumble resonated from deep within Bepo's throat at the insult to his captain and the three backed away accordingly. His captain let out what sounded like a snort.

The lackeys screeched in indignation and horror when the arm of one was cut off.

"Now," Law turned to the paling leader. "I heard you're the wealthiest man on the island."

"Where did you hear about that?" No doubt the man would find the exact person if Law named names.

"A little red bird told me," he deadpanned. Bepo proceeded to stare.

The man blustered before sneering. "If you think I'm giving you anything," Law cut off the legs of both the subordinates mid-sentence. Bepo blinked. Usually the captain wasn't so quick to do that. He was more of the guy who liked to prolong pain. Start at the fingers, maybe at each knuckle, before moving to the hands and _then _the arms.

The first mate could see the normally smooth edges of the cut jagged and torn. His captain's cut were precise and clean. Done for efficiency rather than mercy for his enemies. Or victims.

Both Heart Pirates were surprised at varying degrees at only a slight hesitation. "-You have to be out of your mind, scum." He sneered again. "Thought stealing money was for thieves. I guess I shouldn't surprised that pirate scum, and a devil fruit freak to boot, are starting to paw at riches like the starved dogs they are."

Bepo's eye twitched. His curiosity and uneasiness of seeing the captain's reaction was overriding feelings of contempt for the man.

Law smirked before he let out what sounded like a laugh. The man scowled but it immediately turned to a scream when all four of his limbs were chopped off.

"I find it hilarious that scum would call me scum," Law said, outwardly indifferent. He sliced off an ear, his cool anger and memories of green eyes weighing heavily in the back of his mind. It was a different feeling between defending the honour of his nakama and... whatever the woman was. It was one of the few times he found himself unsure of something. It angered him. It made him uneasy.

"The next time I'll slice your other ear without the use of the devil fruit abilities you seem so discontented with."

The man's cool facade cracked and he began blubbering nosensical words.

He thought of her more as a simple nakama, but definitely not enough to hold truly romantic notions. He enjoyed her companionship. However, if she was to do something, something irrevocable like he warned her not to do, there would be hell to pay.

There would be. The guarantee of it made Law pleased, yet there was a tiny inkling of something else in the back of his mind...

Anxiety.

* * *

><p><em>That was really gross<em>_. _Bepo shuddered as he thought of what happened to those men the captain had, well, beat up a bit.

And what was just putting it mildly.

It was late now and he and the captain had just returned from their little adventure. The hallways were dimmed like it usually was, but his superior vision instantly spotted Pandora striding down the hallways and staring at the ground. He stopped, cocked his head and waited for Pandora to bump into him.

"...Bepo." Pandora put a hand to where her head had met his body.

"You should watch where you're going," Bepo chided before examining her. "You look a little different..." She wasn't wearing her usual shorts and tank top, but a robe. It was open, so he could see a sheer light blue night gown that only reached mid-thigh. The name of it was on the tip of his tongue. He remembered Penguin and Shachi talking about it once. "Why are you wearing a negligee?"

"I'm trying to seduce him," she said, deadpan, though a frown was marring her face.

Bepo blinked. "You mean the Captain?"

The frown deepened as she gave him a peculiar look. "No, I mean _Gale_ since he's awake and all."

Being who he was, Bepo didn't catch the sarcasm in her words.

"I don't think Gale likes you like that, Pandora." He tried to let her off gently. "And plus he's in the other direction." He didn't think the captain would like that very much either.

"Bepo, you..." She looked incredibly weary then, in more ways than one. "I meant Law. I was just being sarcastic."

"Oh. Why didn't you just say that then?" She was being so silly and troublesome, going in circles like that.

"Ugh..." Whether Pandora was moaning about the conversation that just took place or something else, he couldn't tell. She rocked back and forth on her feet lightly. "What were you up to today?"

"Hmm..." He was thoughtful, before arriving to the same answer the captain had spoken to him earlier. "Torture... Tortured about three guys with Captain." He thought about it more. "It was only mental torture though and the Captain was the only one doing the torturing." He decided not to say it could have very well gone further into physical torture.

"Wha..." Her mouth opened but no words came out. She straightened. "What the do you mean by that?"

If Bepo had thumbs, he would be twiddling them right about now. "It was a little weird how he just went ahead and tortured them. I doubted he even knew them." _Bepo _didn't know them, and he had been around the captain practically since he'd been born.

Meanwhile, Pandora had put a palm to her face pensively. She jerked when she realized something.

"What did these guys look like?" she demanded urgently.

The first mate proceeded to describe what little he could remember about their faces and build. It was interesting to see her face turn the shade of his fur before morphing into an unflattering shade of puce. He hesitated in his description when she turned on her heel and began marching back to where she came.

"Where are you going, Pandora?" he called out.

"I'm changing," she snapped as a reply.

* * *

><p>"Hey!"<p>

He was greeted with a yell upon entering his room. His mouth was set in a thin, neutral line. She ignored his expression and continued viciously.

"It must be all those fumes from your lab getting to your head for you to do something as stupid as...as... _this!_" She gestured wildly at the air.

"Apologies for breathing." He inclined his head agreeably. "I had no idea you felt that way about me."

Her eyes widened in shock before narrowing furiously. "You're so funny, Law! I'm surprised I'm not rolling around on the ground laughing at the sheer hilarity of your great joke!" She shook her head. "You know exactly what I mean! You tortured three, innocent men! All for a stupid thing that happened years—!"

"You don't mean that when you say they were innocent," he reached for the towel hanging off the back of his desk chair. "I knew exactly what I was doing to your tormentors and the consequences following after." He continued leisurely as he began drying his hair. "But my reason for doing that wasn't because of you."

He smirked at her shell-shocked expression.

"I just wanted to make my bounty an even 200." He shrugged. "We'll see if that happens. The bounties are sometimes strange numbers."

She blinked. That did make sense. His bounty was almost to 200 and maybe, just maybe, it would actually get to that number with what he did. Her childhood... _bullies _did belong to the richest and most influential family in town. At the very least, the leader was. The two others were only his lackeys. That was why her mom couldn't do anything... or rather, Pandora had begged her mom not to do anything. She purposely made the woman swear to her daughter into not delving into the matter any further since, even as a child, she had a feeling that her mom was content here. What her mom _did _do was move out their house in town and to the house at the outer boundaries. Pandora knew the reason wasn't because her mom wanted to isolate them. It was... What was it again?

She shook her head. Anyway, she should have expected an answer like that from Law. There she went again, getting arrogant because she thought he was defending her honour. Not that she had wanted him to go and torture them, but hearing that he didn't do it for her...

She couldn't help but be upset. She didn't even know why she felt like this. As she kept telling herself, it wasn't like she wanted him to go and do what he did. It was an irrational feeling built on sleep deprivation. It was 1in the morning, after all.

_Stop being silly_.

"You are... sick..." Pandora said defensively, trying to hide that fact she was upset. She concentrated on her anger before she found out his reason; when she only knew his action. It was pretty easy to latch onto the emotion.

"Disappointed?" He had finished drying his hair, so thankfully hadn't been looking at her face during that short pause.

"No!" She crossed her arms over her chest. "Of course I'm not. It's more like..." She scoffed. "I'm incredibly surprised by your lack of self-preservation. You realize that we'll probably have to leave very soon since they probably called the Marines on us. It's not like you're some..." She took a breath and reluctantly continued, "No-name pirate. They probably recognized you were Trafalgar Law just from your description."

Law closed his eyes. "True as that may be, you're forgetting a small detail."

She raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"

"The closest Marine base would be at the Sabaody and that's a-"

"-day and a half from here," she finished. "Or possibly even a day."

"Correct, we've almost finished with preparations for travel and will be leaving before they arrive here. The only issue following that would be them finding us once we're out on the sea. The possibility of that is low since we'll be travelling underwater..." His voice had trailed off, a neutral expression taking over. She knew he was thinking. She just didn't know about what.

Pandora cocked her head. "You've thought about this a bit, haven't you?"

He brushed off what she said. "Thinking of something as simple as that was no strain."

"Are you calling me stupid?"

"If I had wanted to, I would have said to you point-blank that you were."

She could feel her cheeks heating up a little and hoped he wouldn't be able to see it under the dim lighting.

"Your reason for being here, Miss Pandora?"

"I wanted to ask you about what you had done." That was partly the truth, but he didn't need to know that. _No... _ she thought. _It is the truth. _She had wanted to come for another reason, but now her reason had changed. As simple as that.

It was embarrassing to think of why she originally came.

She let out a small, nervous laugh. "So I'll just be... going... n..." Her voice broke off awkwardly when she saw him absentmindedly run a hand through his hair. He wasn't looking at her, instead taken with staring at something past her.

Pandora bit her lip. _He wasn't even doing it on purpose. _

She took her own strides to him and bent down slightly. Before she knew it, her hand was trapped in his larger one.

"Yes?" he asked, referring to how she had reached her hand out and almost touched his head.

"Your hair's messy." He had let go after his inquiry. She took the opportunity to brush her fingers through his hair. It was still wet from his shower, so it didn't have the same texture as when she usually had her fingers through his hair... When they were kissing...

Pandora bent down even more to give him a chaste kiss.

"Sorry," she muttered. Her lips pressed together. She could feel a blush forming. His expression made her smile shortly. Her forwardness had surprised her as well. She wouldn't have done that in a normal situation.

_But... _she thought as she met a silent Law halfway for another kiss. To say it in one word, it was incredible. She jolted in surprise when she felt his hand sliding under her shirt to press lightly into the small of her back. There was something quite sweet about how he was handling her. Usually he was more aggressive. Not that she hated it. It was just this gentleness made a bitter taste in her mouth.

...

"I've wanted to say this for the longest time..." She was straddling him, having taken his lack of awareness as an opportunity. The memory made her smirk. Law must be rubbing off her if she enjoyed the expression when she removed her shirt. "But I didn't because I was still pissed at you for being a complete ass about how I joined this crew and then your continued obnoxiousness throughout these few months. I guess you could say that I'm being the better person by telling you this now even if I'm kind of iffy about whether you deserve it or—ECK!"

Air rushed out of her lungs as their positions suddenly switched. Her arms automatically moved towards her now exposed chest. He had unhooked her bra at the same time he flipped her over. His hands grabbed her wrists and flattened against the bed. Her toes curled and her heart almost flew out of her chest when he pressed his mouth to the centre of her chest.

"Continue," he said against her skin as his mouth trailed up.

"Too close!" she barked. She flailed inwardly when his mouth brushed against her collar bone. She forced herself to calm down. "Way too close."

"Continue, Pandora," he repeated shortly.

She grit her teeth, tried to re-focus herself despite _his_ teeth against her shoulder. "I wanted to say thank you." She felt him pause and sighed, whether in disappointment or relief she didn't know.

The silence was heavy, but that was what she wanted. She smiled wistfully over his head.

"Then you're in here as a thank you," despite the phrasing of his question, Pandora was pretty offended there was no lilt at the end of her sentence.

Her first action was reaching for his shirt, but then she hesitated when she realized he wasn't wearing one. She switched tactics and brought her hands on either side of his face so he would look at her. He had let go of her wrists when he had been leaving marks on her.

"Don't treat me like some third-rate whore."

His eyes darkened. She cocked her head. She _knew _it was anger but she didn't know why. "Should I be treating you as a first-class one then?" At her indignant expression, he switched tactics. "Then I'll assume you came here for another reason other than interrogating me."

...Why did he have to do that?

"You're right," she admitted after a sigh. Before he could smirk at her confession, she grabbed the back of his head and knocked their noses together. She would have laughed at his hilarious expression (for the second time this night!) if she wasn't so preoccupied with crushing her lips against his. It was sloppy and she would probably be berating herself the next day. Not because she was regretting wanting this with him but because it was almost the end.

After his initial shock wore off, she felt a rush of dizziness as she felt his tongue meeting hers and the dull ache of him pulling her hair. It was bemusing to realize she actually liked it. Whenever she tried to pull away from the kiss for breath, he pulled her closer until she thought she would actually faint from the lack of air and wouldn't that be embarrassing?

Pandora turned her head to the side when he finally released her, panting erratically as cool air stung her throat. Her face turned as red as her hair.

"What was _that_ ?" She tried crawling backwards from him but he wouldn't let her.

"For laughing at me."

"I wasn't laughing at you!"

"Not outwardly," he deadpanned.

She stared at him in surprise, mouth open, before she began laughing out loud in earnest. The very, very rare times she saw him like this, she could honestly say that she really—

After she was done laughing, she grinned at him. Her first full-blown grin at him.

"I came here of my own volitation. Interrogating you had just been me getting sidetracked."

One of his hands held him above her while the other was against the soft curve of her waist. She focused on his calluses pressing against the soft skin rather than the pinning gaze on her. The air in the room was cold, colder than how it normally felt. He was warm enough that she wasn't discomfitted by their location. She stared back at him decisively. She knew he knew. Or what she wanted him to know anyway, and hoped for a moment that he could see past her deception and call her out on it.

But he didn't.

* * *

><p><strong>.<strong>

**.**

**.**

**Edit (July 29, 2013): **Wow, so it's been almost a year since I've updated and this isn't even an update. It's an edited version of Pick Your Poison. Since... chapter 5 I've been wanting to edit it but I never really felt motivated to until someone PMed me to give their critique on the fic. That being said, I was almost done editing last September (was at chapter 16!) but stopped completely because of school. When I say "edit", it means there are minor things such as changing up sentences so it fits the characterization of the character better or adding new scenes. There are quite a bit of new scenes or scenes that have been pretty much rehashed. In the instance that old readers re-read, they probably won't see a difference until about chapter 4-5? An entirely new chapter should be coming up before summer ends. I wanted to finish the fic, but don't hold your breath!

And a sorry for people I haven't replied to. I will reply before I post a new chapter.

AND also another sorry for any false hope that this is a new chapter. I suppose there's enough new content in the entire fic to take up the size of a new chapter but it just isn't the same, I know. Please don't feel _any_ obligation to re-review just because I re-posted chapter 18.


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N: **Long writer's note at the bottom. Some stuff is important. Other stuff isn't. I'm sorry to ask this of you guys, but excluding the review replies, please at least skim through all of it. Danke. :)

* * *

><p><strong>Pick Your Poison<br>****Chapter 19**

Pandora's neck cracked as she stretched her sore muscles. She groaned before yawning. The sun had barely risen. She'd stayed up most of the night with Law but habit made her wake up this early. Law himself was already out of the bed when she awoke. Probably with Gale since they were setting sail very soon.

She felt surprisingly more calmer than she thought she would about the trigger she would create to set off the chain of events. Maybe it was the sex. It had been great but really tiring. Really good when Law had done _that _with his tongue...

_...And I should stop thinking about it before I go crazy... _Pandora thought. She yawned again. There was one more thing she had to do before she left the island. Shachi and Penguin hadn't given her much to do to prepare. She supposed it was because they thought she would like to spend time with as many people she could in her hometown. She chuckled into her hand, touched by their consideration despite how misguided they were.

She had an hour before her meeting, so she thought a detour to a certain someone's house wouldn't be so bad. It would be the final loose end she would tie up before her departure. Any possible feelings of apprehension hadn't surfaced. It was the first time she felt confident that was she was doing was right when she normally would have had about a million doubts in her head pop up. She yawned as she knocked on the door to the house. She probably was too tired to think of this as a situation that warranted being nervous.

She patiently waited as she heard some shuffling inside the house before the door opened. The man before her was staring at her politely with a touch of concealed wariness at the strange woman on his doorstep.

"...Yes?"

"You don't remember me..." Pandora said airily, though a little disappointed. Her re-entrance into his life would have seemed more dramatic if he recognized her immediately.

"No, I..." He stopped, now examining her more closely. Particularly her eyes and hair. His eyes widened in shock.

"Pandora? Maxwell Pandora?"

"Ding ding. Give the man a prize," she responded cheerfully. And give him a prize she did. There was a split second of peace where the man opened his mouth to most likely ask her what she meant. She didn't give him that chance. Pandora roundhouse kicked him to his ribs. He fell and she promptly stepped forward to use the toe of her boot to kick him in his chin. It was satisfying to her to see the amount of pain and confusion the guy was in. It was a little worrying that she was satisfied. She had used to care. When had that stopped?

Law _really _must have been rubbing off her.

"W-what are you doing to him?!" someone shrieked.

"What?" Pandora couldn't help but let out at the sight of a woman with short black hair rushing down the steps with a baby swaddled in a blanket and in her arms. She reluctantly removed the boot on the man's solar plexus and stepped back a mite. Even though she had heard from Claus that he had moved and that he had gotten married and had a kid, she couldn't help but not believe it until she saw it.

The woman was crouching over her groaning husband. She snapped her head up to Pandora.

"Seriously, who the hell are you? If you don't leave right now then I may just call the Marines on you, you b-"

"Wait," the man wheezed out, putting a hand on his wife's hand. Maybe Pandora had gone overboard by smashing her boot to the man's chest, but whatever. "Just... wait."

He had a lot of difficulty getting back up. Pandora merely watched silently as the other woman did her best to help him despite having a sleeping infant in one arm. She wouldn't let guilt overtake her. He _deserved _it. Absolutely deserved getting beaten up by her.

"Haha..." He was swaying unsteadily. "I guess I deserved that, didn't I?"

Pandora couldn't conceal her surprise.

He smiled, but then shortly winced. "Let's talk outside, why don't we?"

"I'm not letting you go out with that crazy witch!"

"Sweetie," he consoled his wife. "It's all right. I'll be fine." He turned to Pandora. "You aren't going to try anything anymore, right?"

"Not unless you provoke me," Pandora responded honestly.

"See?" The woman still looked _very _hesitant at Pandora's half-assed words. He grinned, trying to reassure him. "If it makes you feel better, we'll be right by the mail box. You can watch us from here."

Pandora was ushered out before anyone could say anything.

"I didn't think you would come back, let alone seek me out," he told her honestly. "It just doesn't seem to be like you."

Was he calling her a coward...? Arguably, she thought she was kind of a coward, but she didn't need someone like _him _telling her that.

"I met someone and have stayed with him for a while now. He's strong, so he kind of... inspired me to take action, even if it was just against you," she explained truthfully. Pandora knew that he was just tippy-toeing around what he _really _wanted to ask. Frankly, she wanted to stop talking to him as soon as possible, but she needed this closure.

"Why did you call me out?" Personally, she wouldn't talk with someone who had just beat her up.

It was a little surreal.

"You've gotten blunter, haven't you, Pandora? I wanted to..." he trailed off. She waited for him to get out the words he wanted to say. She already had a hunch of what he wanted to tell her though, but wanted him to say the words himself.

"I wanted to say I was sorry," he finally said, struggling to find the words yet completely sincere. "Sorry for getting together with you and then breaking up under such circumstances." He looked away from her, who was staring at him steadily. "It was a bet at first, but I grew to like you after a while," he explained. "It's just that I..."

_..._

"I got scared of being isolated like you." The boy—no, man was frowning uncomfortably. "The 'sorry' may not mean a lot, but I just thought that I had to say it."

She was still flabbergasted that he had just apologized, but then she realized something. Before he broke up with her, she had thought him kind. That's why she had liked him.

"I already knew why," Pandora stated. It wasn't like alienation involving her was weird in this town. It was common, so she wasn't shocked about why he just apologized. The fear of being alone was also understandable. She'd experienced it enough times to understand him. Even just a little. "That's why I forgave you."

"...Then why did you hurt me just now?"

"Even if I forgive you, I still can't forget the bit of pain I went through, you bastard," she deadpanned at his bewilderment. "I'm not about to let go of an opportunity to repay a 'debt'."

"Touche..." he trailed off and was looking at something. Pandora turned in the direction he was looking and saw his wife staring at them suspiciously from the window. She saw love in his eyes. Her heart clenched in jealousy. "She's worried you're going to attack me again," he explained mildly.

"She doesn't have to worry about it anymore. I'm leaving."

"So soon?"

"I just came here to tie up a loose end," she replied. It was also almost time with her appointment. "And now that it's tied up, I won't have any regrets."

"...You're travelling with those pirates that docked the other day, aren't you?" Her silence was enough of an answer for the young man. "...Be careful."

Pandora couldn't help it but be a little tiny bit touched. She gave him a small smile. "Thanks, but you should know my middle name is Careful."

"See you around?" he replied. His tone wasn't hopeful, but wasn't unwelcoming either. She was happy about that, even though she knew she wouldn't be able to see his face again without thinking back to lost days.

Her smile disappeared. "I don't think so."

She wasn't coming back to this island.

* * *

><p>"Ahaha, you actually came," Claus bolstered out as he set down cups of coffee on the table. Before him, sitting on the other side of the desk, was one of the infamous Eleven Supernovas. "I'm surprised!"<p>

"It's only common courtesy that I come." Law was observing the room they were in. It was obviously not a place for entertaining guests. It was a practice. Books lined the shelves of the room. He read some of the titles, recognizing a few that he had read himself. The two men were sitting at a professional desk.

"Are you a doctor?" Law gazed pointedly at the therapist couch sitting at the corner.

"Technically I am, but not to the extent of what you are, I'm afraid. A therapist, you see." Claus drank his coffee. "I just got my license a few years ago. Judging by how young you seem, I very well may have gotten it after you had gotten your license!"

Law didn't touch his at all. "What did you want to speak to me about?"

"Youngsters, these days. Cutting right to the chase." The old man sighed. "I want to tell you more about Pandora." The wrinkled skin around his eyes crinkled. "She came to Vernon when she was about 7 years old. From that moment on, she and Sasha were pretty much isolated from everyone else."

"...Why was that the case?"

"Her father is a fool. An incredible fool," Claus growled out. "He got into a fight with one of the equally foolish men in this town. One thing led to another and he accidentally told Sasha's secret. I don't even know how." The old man rubbed his weathered forehead, probably remembering the past and that day.

"Sasha's... killed before."

"...I see."

Claus blinked in surprise at the pirate captain's reaction, or lack of it. "You don't seem quite as surprised as I thought you would be." He chuckled. "I couldn't say I was surprised either, but that was only because I knew the three of them before they came on the island."

"This seems like a peaceful village," Law trailed off purposefully. "...Yet Miss Pandora and her mother were allowed to stay despite the apparent contempt for them."

"That was because of me," the other man said. There was no haughtiness, only a factual tone. "Before I went into the profession I'm in now, I was an advisor on the town's head council. Fought tooth and nail for them, especially since they had nowhere to go."

He saw the look that was given to him and laughed. "Now, I wouldn't go out of my way to defend someone I didn't know! It's because I know Sasha from before, as I said. I was in her debt and decided to repay it right then and there."

The pirate captain nodded once in understanding, but that was all. To Claus, the young man seemed impatient. He supposed that was part of the plan Pandora was telling him about earlier.

"But I could only get the town to tolerate their presence. Pandora's father was gone a lot, so that may have helped matters. I only met him a handful of times during that time." The old man hesitated. "So you now may have guessed by now that..."

"That she was alone during her childhood," Law finished concisely. "I've already guessed all that for a while now, Mister Claus. Could there be a reason for you telling me this?" He leaned back against the chair, elbow on the arm rest while his fingers cradled his chin.

Claus blinked at the pirate before he smiled resignedly. Yes, the man was much more intuitive than he was given credit for.

"First, I should clarify that Pandora was never alone." The old man shook his hand. "And she never thought of herself as alone. She had her mom and, well, me. I know we weren't much. Not the same as having kids as friends, but we were something." He thought back to when he first met Sasha. "It's a terrible thing when you're _completely _alone." The memory of the first meeting faded like a dream that he did not bother to cling onto. "Now to answer your question..."

"I just thought I'd tell you about Pandora when she was just a kid." Claus's eyes darkened with wistfulness of days gone by. "You two seemed pretty close from what Pandora told me, so I thought it only right to tell you a little. Whatever else she tells you will be her choice." To him, it was apparent that they didn't suit each other very well. It wasn't like Pandora was a _saint_, but a jump from a semi-normal girl to a pirate seemed strange to him. He didn't think it was by choice that Pandora joined the pirates and even though she seemed fine with it, Claus wondered if she necessarily approved of everything that he had read in the newspapers about Trafalgar Law and his crew.

...

The old man reasoned out loud, more to himself than the other man in the room. "Pandora wouldn't stay with you if you were not only heinously cruel but also unreasonable. You seem like a reasonable fellow to me."

The pirate stood up.

Claus raised an eyebrow. "Leaving already?" he asked.

Law turned away from the door. "Is there anything else you wish to say, Mister Claus?"

"..." The old man stood up unsteadily and reached for his cane. He shook his head.

"Nope, Mister Trafalgar, nothing at all."

His bushy brows furrowed in worry at the speed the young man went out.

He followed after to the door, intent on visiting an old friend.

* * *

><p>"You're too conspicuous..."<p>

Bepo's mouth opened into an 'o' at Liam's words. Liam rolled his eyes. Was it really that big a surprise? He was wearing a blindingly orange jumpsuit for god's sake. Being a polar bear didn't help matters either. He turned back to the person they were spying on. Pandora seemed to be wandering around the place, as if trying to waste time... or something else? He couldn't put his finger on it, but she was acting really weird.

Admittedly, the Pandora that he knew was being perfectly normal when he kicked that guy's ass. Liam didn't know _why _she kicked that guy's ass, but it was the only normal thing that she had done all day.

"Sorry..." There was a pause as the bear contemplated Liam's words. He wondered if it would be best to just take off his jumpsuit. But on the other hand, that would be going practically naked. He had become so accustomed to wearing human clothes that it was awkward for even such a fine specimen of a bear like himself to only go in his bare fur.

"Ah!"

"You sound like you're choking. You okay?"

Liam gave Bepo a peeved look, but otherwise ignored what he said.

"Look! She's finally doing something that looks as if she's actually doing something."

While Bepo contemplated what the boy just said, Liam scurried after her. He slowed down when he saw that what she went into was a bar because: 1) Pandora didn't go into bars often of her own free will and 2) He was hoping that this wasn't one of those damn bars that had age restrictions on them because if it was, he was going to-

Bepo's head cocked to one side when his fellow pirate whooped after seeing a sign beside the door.

"Weirdo," was what was muttered to himself before he ambled after his two subordinates.

* * *

><p>Pandora had been wandering around the town for a while. She wore a hat, tying her hair and tucking it all under the cap until not even a single lock could be seen. The lethargy of the morning had been replaced by anxiety, but also determination.<p>

Vernon was a nice town. What little she had told Law had only been the tip of the metaphorical iceberg. While she didn't want to dismiss that little incident that had happened when she was a kid, she also realized Vernon was, _overall, _a good place to live. It was the aftermath of the incident that had been hard to deal with but her mother had helped her along quietly, as always.

She used to be jealous of the other kids, but there were a lot of things that she was thankful about when she was a kid, like the mental fortitude her mother had instilled in her younger self. It was one of the aspects of her child self that she admired. After she had died, well, her mental fortitude had gone down by a considerable degree.

Pandora pressed the heel of her palms to her eyes. It was a problem when she started to admire the maturity of herself when she was a little _kid_.

She had parents that had loved her. An old man that had treated her as if she was his own granddaughter. A mother that had raised her well, sans the part where she taught Pandora how to do moves like the drop kick. Pandora wasn't very sure what to classify that as...

Oh.

Her eyes darted to a gaze meeting her from the dirty windows of the bar. _How did he get past me? _Shaking her head, Pandora made her way purposefully to the establishment.

"Hello," she greeted, sitting down across the man. From what little she could see of his face not covered by a dark scarf, he was _not _an attractive man. His eyes were black and beady and he had a shiny head, clear of any hair and covered in liver spots here and there. He reminded her of a fat frog as he smiled at her, crow's feet showing. She shuddered as he took a deliberate look up and down her body before his crow's feet became more prominent. Rotten. This man was as rotten as the organization he worked for. Smelled like it too. His dark brown clothes were loose around his form. The sleeves slid back as he held his hand up to shake hers. It revealed the very hairy arms of the man.

She shook his hand quickly, his fingers lingering a little too long as he released her.

Pandora tried not to stare at the stereotypical definition of Shitty World Government in front of her. One would think CP would try to win her over with a clean cut agent instead of someone like this. She thought of Claus for a brief moment. Reverse psychology, maybe? That if she saw this man, she would think that the World Government couldn't possibly be that bad if they were willing to hire someone like him.

"You already know my name." Pandora tried to discreetly wipe her hand on her skirt. It was people like him, with a fine film of dirt covering his hands, that made her so thankful to be a tidy person. "And you are...?"

"...You don't need to know my name." The man's voice was low and quiet like a tranquil forest. It was the polar opposite of his appearance and his mannerisms. She was surprised and a little wary. Having a nice voice juxtaposed the memory of his eyes trailing down her body. "All you need to know is that I'm from the World Government's Science Unit." He leaned forward, baggy clothes shifting around him. "What _I _need to know is your answer, but I'm assuming by you contacting us that you've accepted our offer."

She thought a moment of what her decision could do to Law and the others, and then she thought of her family.

"I accept," Pandora said evenly. "I'm going to help the World Government capture the Heart Pirates."

"I'm required to ask you for your motive."

"Blood is thicker than water." Blood was red while water was clear and pure. Blood stained whatever it touched and couldn't be removed that easily. The blood running through her veins had drawn her to her decision. She looked at her hand, tried to imagine the veins with the red life fluid running through and tried to trick herself into believing it was less important than it really was. She couldn't.

The man deliberated her answer before nodding slowly.

"Then I'll tell you."

He conveyed all the plans that his superior, Sentomaru, had made. This included how she would relay which zone's port the Heart Pirates were docking in and more detailed descriptions of the ambush that was to come.

"After that, you'll give information on my father, right?" Pandora leaned forward.

"Yes," the man agreed, a smirk playing on his lips. "We'll give you what you want after the mission is done."

The pair both heard the front door being opened again, but ignored it in favour for a stare down.

"You aren't lying, are you?"

His smirk widened. "You're just going to have to trust us, aren't you?"

...

"I guess I'll have to," she finally answered. The day that she would trust the World Government had as much of a chance of happening as a snowball surviving in hell. But she didn't say that.

He stood up. "Then I'll be taking my leave now." He made it one step before he seemed to remember something.

"I forgot to mention that the CP9 agent assigned to you planted something on you the last time you met."

He grinned, or at least looked like he grinned judging by how the scarf shifted.

"Nothing to worry about, my dear. It was just a tracker. We wanted to get rid of the Heart Pirates before they got to Sabaody, but it seems that all we did was raise the bounty on their Captain since he managed to defeat all the Marines sent to him. Oops, is all that can be said at this point." He shrugged like it was not big deal.

Pandora's eyes widened at his words but she didn't say a word.

"Until Sabaody, dear."

He tipped his hat and left through the back.

...

Pandora's lashes lowered as she stared at her clasped hands on the table.

She... hadn't known. She should have. She _shouldn't _be caring though. Her initial goal was to find her father by any means, and if that meant throwing pirates to the Marines to be served justice, she shouldn't be hesitating at all. She pressed her palms together in front of her face and looked up at the dirty ceiling.

Right. She wouldn't hesitate anymore.

"Pandora?" A voice interrupted her chaotic thoughts.

She turned to see Liam and Bepo staring at her, shock apparent on their faces.

She commanded herself to look at them steadily. Right in the eye. _Right in the eye, Pandora._

"Pandora," Bepo finally said. His ears were flattened to his head as he looked at her sadly instead of the anger on the shaking Liam.

"...What are you doing?"

* * *

><p>Half an hour from town, there was an old man hobbling along the horizon. He exited from the thicket of trees that made up the forest and walked along the river. The setting sun burning uncomfortably on his back, but he continued on his journey. He felt the weariness settle down in his bones while he leaned against his wooden cane with every step. When had that happened? When had he grown old?<p>

He could remember everything like it was yesterday. The day Sasha died. The day her and Pandora arrived on their quiet island despite it being the few that was one of the final pit stops before the Red Line. The day he met a young girl with black hair and blue hair arguing about the inability of the World Government, suffering in her eyes at both her own stupidity and injustice

Unfairness had robbed his wife away and old age had robbed away his strength.

He breathed in deeply as he bent down slowly. He carried a satchel full of a simple bottle of water and a sturdy handkerchief. His weathered hands traced the words before he got down to cleaning. Good, honest work reminded him of his early days when he was just starting out as a fresh and enthusiastic young Marine. He missed those days when the line between what was 'good' and 'bad' had been clearly defined. The naivete that came with youth.

He stood up again, arching his back and was mildly perturbed at the loud crack. Honest work brought up nice memories, but at his age it was hard on him.

Sickness had robbed a friend away and duty had already robbed the daughter from him.

He began speaking to the stone, starting with an anecdote about just what was simply happening in his life like always. One aspect which included a certain young woman visiting him for the first and last time in more than five years.

"I just wanted to tell you that I have no idea what your goal is," Claus admitted out loud. "But Pandora is going to be betraying her nakama for your silly request. You know as well as I do that the man is harder to find than, well, One Piece. She'll be alone after her betrayal, at least for a little while. The fact of the matter is..." He paused, thinking of careful words for the tombstone as if it was a person.

"She won't stay alone. She's not you, Sasha. She never will be."

The thing about the whole inheritance of your parents' traits had never sat right with him. He couldn't believe it. He didn't believe it. That was why he was confident she wasn't born to be alone just because her mother was Sasha. Whereas Sasha carried a quiet fragility and low esteem of her own life was definitely _not _carried on to Pandora. Ironically, it was because Sasha loved Pandora too much to pass on her own, twisted views of life. How big her love must have been to prevent her beliefs from tainting her daughter. How big that bastard's love must have been to help her realize her beliefs were twisted and still accept her.

He sighed.

Sasha had been alone for almost her whole life but –call it a gut feeling— he knew Pandora wouldn't. He didn't know why. He didn't know how.

He just knew.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **Yep. We be reaching the end! I've begun writing drafts of a LeviOC (Shingeki no Kyojin) and AkashiOC (Kuroko no Basuke) as a break from this story to refresh myself, yee, but this is still my main focus, I swear! If you're confused, then please keep in mind that it is in the viewpoint of the person And also, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry for the huge, long, big, ginormous wait. I don't want to give any excuses. All I can do is apologize for the wait. :( Pick Your Poison is almost done. If some stuff seems disjointed, please tell me. It's been a while since I've touched the story, so I'm hoping the flow's still alright.

LASTLY, **SUPER FLASHY IMPORTANT LAST NOTE! **After a lot of debating (with my multiple selves. I know. I'm crazy), I decided to hold a mini-contest. I don't really like calling it a contest. It's kind of a combination of a thank you and a change of pace for myself (my secret ulterior motive, haha) Here are the details:  
>Alright! So how you enter is review between now and Monday at 10PM! It's a short time frame, but I only have winter break before I go back to school, so I need that time to write. : I'll be picking two winners. One will be random and another will be based on quality. The category, quality, may be broad on purpose. It'll be based on a lot of stuff like sincerity, detail and most LIKELY length (as you can see, I've thought thoroughly about this contest, haha). You have no obligation to suck up to me and compliment everything. You can offer well thought-out critique and that would be fine too. :) The prize will be a one-shot no more than 10,000 words on almost ANYTHING, including your own OC, canon pairing, etc. Some limitations would be yaoi, yuri and hardcore smut. I think those are all the limitations... that I can think of. Also, I have to know the fandom well enough to be able to write. I've read A LOT of manga and read some books and watched some movies, so the winners can try just requesting from anything and I may have a good chance of knowing about the fandom. Depending on some circumstances, there may only be one winner. /:

Since I neglected to respond to reviews (after a year, darn it), I'll be replying to all of them here. Once again, I'm sorry for not sending individual messages. I feel like if I say I'll respond later, it will NEVER happen, hahaha... ._. Ok. Yes. I tend to babble, so prepare for looong replies. Plus there is so much backlog from my lack of replying, but I'd rather reply than never do it. Here we go!

**SucreTeen123: **Yes. That is all. ;) **the everchanging: **Thank you! I really enjoyed writing that PandoraLaw scene, so it makes me happy you liked that part. :) **Chemistry-Deaf: **The edited version is a lot more subdued, but hopefully it conveyed the same atmosphere :)** Blobfishington: **SPEAKING OF NOT UPDATING FOR A LONG TIME, I hope the flow is still there. I'm kind of worried about that. Haha, I've read erotica and I think I would be too embarrassed to write it. I knew it was you! I recognized your display picture. And speaking of pictures, I finally saved the fanart you drew for the story onto my computer, yay! **Chococatx33: **And you in turn gave me feels as I read your review. Unfortunately, the story is coming to an end. :( **Deactivated-AxC:** I hope the edits will make the description more appealing and thank you for reassuring me about the confession scene. :) To be honest, I didn't think the scene was extremely bad, but it's just EXTRA embarrassing when re-reading, haha. **Death's Eternal Rose**: Noo, don't hate him. I'm hoping the edits leveled out the playing field between Pandora and Law, though Pandora does more outwardly frustrating things that she ends up 'losing' most of the time, haha. She seems to end up apologizing most of the time. ;_; No girl power in terms of their arguments. **10th Squad 3rd Seat:** AHAHA, he is a man with a pretty woman, so maaaybee. **Guest**: Eek, LOL. I know how hard it is to comment on smut, so thanks for the feedback. I'm glad to see that you enjoyed it. I'm so glad you like Pandora's name. A loong time ago, someone else commented on her name. Personally, as the writer, I REALLY like her name. :) **writrgr: **Yee, I'm outside of your window right now. Hide yo' kids, hide yo' wife (erm, you may not have either of these though) and hide yo' boyfriend! Oh my glob, a cowboy hat! I shall keep that in mind. By the way, there are so many references in this reply, haha. **AceIsTheOnly:** Ky-freaking-yah. You're not the only one who was embarrassed! I remember being embarrassed when I was writing it! **PhoenixRage92**: It is understandable if you're not as glad that I'm back, especially since I've been gone for so long. :( It seems to be ending as soon as it has begun. Oops. ;_; **akagami hime chan:** Omake is gone now, unfortunately, but thanks for the compliments. ;) ANYWAY, wow. You have so much willpower! I'm not saying my fic is especially good or not, but when I get a notification from my Alerts, I just have to read it immediately! **Wutzit2yah:** I like your username LOL. It left me a little flustered too. D: Thank you for your dedication. We're almost to the end, so please continue with your support if you could. Thank you! **VeraVera:** Thank you! **Munchkin:** Erm, it has kind of been more than a few months now, ahahahaha... D:** fritillary252:** Thank you for all the reviews. I really appreciate it. One of my more favourite scenes were Liam's speech and the pyramid adventure, so thank you for commenting on that! Haha, you're not crazy. I usually like long hair too. More ways to style it. :) This is the end, my only friend, the endd~ (This is an inappropriate, morbid song reference, by the way LOL) **Sakura Ichigo Morihiko:** Bahaha, nobody but Bepo will find out, unfortunately. :( At least, no one on the crew will find out! **rabiosarabiosa: **It was a little hasty if you were looking at it in that way, BUT hopefully my edits from earlier in the summer will make everything a little clearer. ^ ^; This is a review for the original version, but thank you for your compliments on the smutiness. :) **Girl-luvs-manga:** Thank you! More interesting things to come. :) **Caramel27:** Bwahaha, there is quite a lot of mysteries in her family! **Shiningheart of ThunderClan: **I don't quite remember what is original and what is edited since chapter 18 was one of the more heavily edited chapters. It has been a long time, haha *gets shot*. Anyway, short answer is that Law is a big softie, but doesn't want to know everyone's a big softie. Little does he know, he helped Pandora tie up a loose end, yay. The answer to your last question: Law's a smart, intuitive softie. Sorta. If you ignore how he cut out the hearts of 100 pirates. :D **phoenix: **Haha, definitely. **Chocolatluver4ever:** Thank you and finally updated!** JustChan:** Yes... yes it has... haha...** i88:** Thank you! **Louietot**: I haven't! I swear!** Sora Tsuiki:** Y-your review seriously warmed my heart! From a writer's standpoint, these kinds of reviews are the best, especially when they're writing an original character. I'm glad you like Pandora! :) I have that kind of pet peeve too! I hate it when people just insert the OC and then regurgitate the lines. I REALLY hate it, so that's why I wrote precanon. Once I get into the canon timeline, it'll be kind of hard to figure out how to write that. Oh, you know... school, laziness, part-time job, laziness, other excuses. xD It is! Or was! I fixed it. Thank you so much for pointing that out. I lost the file with all the island names before so that's why I got them mixed up. ;_;** DarkAngelLida:** "Haha, if only this fic was M-rated..." That is what I think whenever I read some stories LOL.** Kaappimorso:** D'aww, I love when there are repeat readers! **ThexWhitexPhoenix:** I feel like I'm building this up really big only to disappoint you guys. :( I'm very happy you like the story though. That's wonderful of you. It was embarrassing, haha. **koori no hime:** Thank you! I'm really glad you're enjoying how I'm writing the characters since that's one of my weaknesses. ._. I updated! It took quite a while though... **Velonica14:** Thank you for the multiple reviews. :) Liam getting kidnapped was hilarious when I was writing it. He's actually really cute and handsome, though this hasn't been explicitly mentioned in the story, haha. Winston is a posh snail, he is! Rayleigh comes in later. That's all I'll say. ;) **Girl-luvs-manga:** It was meant to be, especially "in a sense" kind of way so thank you for commenting on that! :D **Diclonious57:** The cutest polar bear ever, he is! **Whimsical Omelettes:** Thank you, Miss Omelettes! I'm glad to see you find this fic convincing. :) **reddevil47:** Yes! Victory! Thank you for this compliment *bows*

It was great re-reading all of these reviews. Once again, apologies for the length due to my lack of replying. :/

Thanks for reading!


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